Volkswagen Chattanooga's hourly production workers are getting a pay raise

Volkswagen employees perform checks as vehicles move down the assembly line at the Volkswagen Assembly Plant Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Each vehicle goes through variety of inspections before reaching the end of the assembly line.
Volkswagen employees perform checks as vehicles move down the assembly line at the Volkswagen Assembly Plant Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Each vehicle goes through variety of inspections before reaching the end of the assembly line.

We want to be the most attractive employer in the area.

Production workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga assembly plant will see a pay boost as the automaker seeks to retain and attract more employees amid a ramp-up to make electric vehicles.

Permanent hourly employees will start at $16 per hour, up from $15.50 per hour, said Antonio Pinto, chief executive at Volkswagen Chattanooga. The 50-cent-per-hour raise is across the board, also hiking the pay for production workers already employed by the German automaker, he said.

"We want to be the most attractive employer in the area," Pinto said.

The move comes as VW readies to start construction this spring on a new $800 million electric vehicle production facility. VW, which now employs about 3,800 people in Chattanooga, plans to hire 1,000 more workers in connection with the expansion.

Pinto said that VW's last pay increase was in 2015. The new rate will start July 1.

After six months of employment with Volkswagen, Chattanooga workers are eligible for $17 per hour. After two years, they are eligible for $19.70 an hour.

While new hires will begin at $16 per hour, they'll top out at $23.50, according to VW.

Christy Gillenwater, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, said that increasing wages will continue to attract employees and will help families as they plan their futures in the region.

"With the competition for talent increasing, we applaud Volkswagen's announcement," she said. "As a top employer, VW offers generous benefits and an excellent working environment and we're proud of their continued investment in their workforce and in our region."

VW also offers a benefits package that includes comprehensive health care coverage including medical, dental and vision, maternal and paternal new parent leave, matching 401(k), an employee and family vehicle lease program along with tuition reimbursement, according to the company.

VW spokesman Keith King said the plant also employs so-called "contingent" team members. While the number varies, it's about 20 percent, he said.

The contingency initiative is one of the pathways into the plant as a permanent employee, while another would be through the apprenticeship program, King said.

He said the goal is to regularly convert contingent team members to permanent employees. Last year, 100 percent of contingent team members were converted after six months, King said.

Pinto said contingent employees recently received more paid time off, and compensation for salaried workers will be reviewed.

"It's step by step. We are dedicated to building quality careers in Chattanooga and want to be on the forefront of compensation and benefits in our region," he said. "This increase is a reinforcement of our team's efforts and, we hope, helpful in recruiting new team members as we continue to grow here in Tennessee."

In January, the most recent month for which figures are available, the average manufacturing worker in Tennessee was paid $19.89 an hour, or 9.1 percent less than the U.S. average hourly manufacturing wage of $21.86, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Among all workers in Hamilton County, the average pay in the third quarter of last year, also the most recent data available, was $921 a week, or an average of about $23 an hour.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.

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