UAW drops appeal to NLRB on Chattanooga union vote; talk turns to VW incentives

John Raudabaugh with the National Right To Work Foundation, left, speaks to attorney Maury Nicely after an announcement Monday stating that the UAW is withdrawing objections filed with the National Labor Relations Board regarding February’s vote at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, effectively terminating the NLRB review process.

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke

Assembly of a new vehicle at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant is now more likely after the United Auto Workers backed off Monday on its appeal of the factory’s union vote, an expert says.

“Now, VW can plan,” said Karl Brauer, a Kelley Blue Book senior analyst, adding that the company couldn’t figure production costs on a new sport utility vehicle with uncertainty over the factory’s union or nonunion status.

The UAW abruptly pulled its appeal for a revote, saying just an hour before a National Labor Relations Board hearing was to begin in Chattanooga that the agency has a “historically dysfunctional and complex process” that could drag on for months or years.

In February, VW workers voted by a 53 percent to 47 percent margin against unionizing the plant, but the UAW had contended that third-party groups and Republican politicians interfered with and tainted the decision.