Efforts to unionize Volkswagen's only U.S. assembly plant in Chattanooga were put in the national spotlight Sunday morning by CBS News, which aired a 9 minute segment on the United Auto Workers' fight to capitalize on the record-breaking contracts signed last year by Detroit's Big Three automakers.
The union is now working to organize nonunion foreign-owned auto plants across the South, where leaders have struggled for decades to overcome hostility, and in Chattanooga they are closest to succeeding, CBS reported.
UAW President Shawn Fain, who encouraged VW workers organizing in Chattanooga on Saturday, is the first UAW leader to be directly elected by membership and "the standard bearer for the labor movement's comeback in 2023," the network reported.
Autoworkers made concessions to keep companies afloat through the Great Recession and risked their lives throughout the pandemic as corporate profits soared. The Big Three automakers took in $100 billion in profits between 2021 and 2023, while the average pay for autoworkers has fallen nearly 20% since its level before the Great Recession, CBS reported.
Within months of being elected, Fain led strikes at Ford, GM and Stellantis with widespread public backing. Unlike past presidents, he updated members via Facebook and talked openly about negotiations, CBS reported.
"You rail against the billionaire class and you wear T-shirts, at times, that say 'Eat the Rich,'" reporter Robert Costa said to Fain.
(READ MORE: VW Chattanooga expects assembly to grow by a third in 2024)
Statement from Volkswagen Group of America to CBS News
"Volkswagen is proud of our 5,500 employees who power our world-class assembly plant in Chattanooga. Our culture has been built through frequent, transparent and two-way dialogue with our people. We respect their democratic right to determine who should represent their interests in the workplace without interference, intimidation, or misinformation."
"I don't think billionaires should exist," Fain answered, smiling. "No one needs that much money. I think it's inhumane. Pick any city, walk around, you see people starving, people without basic necessities. There's no excuse for that. And it's not because people are lazy or don't want to work. The billionaires keep amassing more and more wealth so they can build rocket ships. That does nothing for humanity."
"Your critics say that's class warfare," Costa added.
"Class warfare has been going on in this country for the last 40 years," Fain said. "The billionaire class has been taking everything and leaving the working class with nothing."
"So you welcome it. You want the war?" Costa asked.
"Whenever working class people ever step up and say this is wrong we want it to stop, all the sudden, oh it's class warfare, it's the end of the world," Fain said.
The front line of that war is now Chattanooga, CBS reported, where organizing drives at VW in 2014 and 2019 were narrowly defeated.
"Why not take it down a notch? Why come into this tough territory in the South?" Costa asked Fain while he was in Chattanooga for a rally last December.
"We don't ever rest," Fain answered. "Workers deserve justice."
VW — one of several foreign automakers to issue raises after the UAW victory in Detroit — made $78 billion dollars in profit since 2020 and paid out $24 billion in dividends to corporate executives and shareholders, Fain told organizers at the Chattanooga rally last year, adding that the CEO makes $12 million a year.
CBS filmed VW workers' unsuccessful attempt to meet with management. A statement from VW to CBS said the company supports workers' "democratic right to determine who should represent their interests."
Skepticism of UAW runs deep in Chattanooga, CBS reported.
"How does your family see it?" Costa asked one VW worker who'd joined UAW.
"They don't see it as a good opportunity," the worker said. "They call them communists."
"I really think we have a chance this time," another worker told CBS.
More than 50% of workers have signed union cards, and at 70%, the union says it will call for a vote.
The decision of VW workers in Chattanooga will be a defining moment for Fain and the American labor movement, the segment concluded.
(READ MORE: UAW president comes to Chattanooga as union files more complaints against VW)
"I had a great time today meeting with Volkswagen workers as they journey on the path to victory of winning justice on the job!" Fain posted on social media Saturday night, along with a photo of himself standing with more than 50 workers. "Workers in America are fed up with being left behind and unions are the path to dignity on and off the job! Stand Up UAW VW!!!!"
Contact Joan McClane at jmcclane@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6601.