A rival to the United Auto Workers in Chattanooga says it will not try to get on the ballot to gain the representation of the 164 maintenance workers at Volkswagen's assembly plant.
An American Council of Employees spokesman said the group isn't organizing small subgroups of employees and so it won't ask the National Labor Relations Board to put the group's name alongside the UAW Local 42 when a vote takes place, tentatively set for Nov. 5-6.
"Our group is interested in working with all team members at VW," said Maury Nicely, a Chattanooga attorney representing ACE.
Under NLRB rules, ACE could have sought a place on the ballot, permitting the maintenance workers to vote for it, the UAW or for no union, Nicely said.
Last Friday, UAW Local 42 filed a petition with the NLRB for a vote of the maintenance, or skilled trades, workers for the purposes of collective bargaining. Maintenance workers keep up and fix the sophisticated equipment at the plant.
"We have said from the beginning of Local 42 that there are multiple paths to reach collective bargaining," said Mike Cantrell, the UAW local's president. "We have been considering this option for some time. All options have been, and will remain, on the table."
UAW officials said the timing of the skilled trades filing with the NLRB is unrelated to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, plans to hold a legislative hearing today in Chattanooga to learn more about how VW plans to move forward in the wake of the scandal.
He said the UAW election and his hearing are "a mutually exclusive conversation." Watson said he's not a believer that a union is in the VW plant's best interest. But, he said, that "as long as the process is a fair election, it's up to the workers to decide. It has nothing to do with the conversation we'll have."
Matt Patterson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Worker Freedom, said he's not surprised the UAW is seeking another election, but he is at the proposed quick two-week time frame for the vote.
Patterson, whose group opposed the union in the February 2014 election at the plant that the UAW lost 712 to 626, said that having a quick election is an effort to cut short any opposition.
"They want an election as soon as possible," he said.
Patterson, whose group was active in last election, wouldn't comment on plans this time.
Jessica Kahanek, an NLRB spokesman, said Wednesday afternoon the election date hasn't been finalized.
The UAW has said Local 42 has gained the membership of a majority of the blue-collar workers in Chattanooga. It has been recognized for the top tier of a Volkswagen labor policy that stops short of collective bargaining rights.
The UAW says the union has signed up 816 members, or 55 percent of the blue collar workforce at the plant.
ACE has said in federal filings that it has signed up 381 members among both hourly and salaried employees. It, too, is engaged with the company, though not on as extensive a level as the UAW.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.