The United Auto Workers union today said Volkswagen is breaking federal labor laws by not recognizing the results of a December unionization election.
The Detroit-based union asked the National Labor Relations Board to order the German auto maker to begin bargaining with the skilled workers who voted to join the UAW despite the company’s appeal of the NLRB decision.
The federal labor board on April 13 declined to take up Volkswagen’s challenge of allowing the union election among a group of about 160 workers specializing in the repair and maintenance of machinery and robots.
Volkswagen Chattanooga spokesman Scott Wilson says the company is seeking an appeal in federal court because the National Labor Relations Board “declined to fully evaluate” its argument that labor decisions should only be made by the entire hourly workforce of about 1,400 employees.
The UAW won the December election on a 108-44 vote, ending a decades-long losing streak in union elections among foreign automakers in the South. The UAW lost an election among all plant workers two years ago when workers voted 712–626 against UAW representation.