VW workers in Tennessee vote to join UAW in historic win for union

The United Auto Workers said Friday evening Volkswagen Workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted overwhelmingly to join the union, marking a major milestone for union organizing and the first successful unionization drive by an automaker outside the Big Three. Detroit.

According to results released by the UAW’s lead attorney, unionization passed with 73 percent of the vote, or 2,628 workers, in favor of the UAW, according to the message. A total of 3,620, or about 84 percent, of more than 4,300 eligible VW workers voted in the election, the union said. Seven ballots were challenged and three were annulled.

“In a historic victory, an overwhelming majority of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted to join the UAW,” the union said in a statement Friday evening, before official results were released. by the NLRB. “As the votes continue to be counted, the result is clear: Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga are the first Southern autoworkers, outside of the Big Three, to win their union.”

The NLRB must still certify the outcome, but barring any unexpected problems or challenges, the company is required to negotiate in good faith with the union. Talks can be direct or first go through a mediator.

VW confirmed the UAW victory in a statement Friday evening, but offered little comment.

UAW leaders and supporters are expected to use the victory as the starting point for an unprecedented unionization drive by 13 U.S. automakers, following major contract wins last year with General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler’s parent company, Stellantis.

UAW President Shawn Fain and others saw this week’s vote as the union’s best chance to organize the VW plant after strikes and record contracts at Detroit automakers. These agreements included significant wage increases, reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments and other benefits.

The successful organizing drive comes days after six Republican governors from Southern states, including Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, issued a joint statement condemning the UAW’s efforts to organize in their states.

“We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our constituents to create good-paying jobs in our states. These jobs have become part of the industrial fabric of the auto industry. Unionization would certainly put our states’ jobs at risk – in fact, In this context, for a year now, all UAW automakers have announced layoffs,” the statement said.

The UAW failed to organize the Volkswagen plant in 2014 and 2019 as it faced greater external political pressure and worker opposition. Five years ago, workers rejected union membership by just 833 votes to 776.

The union will now focus on negotiations with VW. It will also look into an early unionization vote by Mercedes-Benz workers at an SUV plant in Vance, Alabama.

Workers at the facility earlier this month filed paperwork with the NLRB seeking a formal election to join the UAW. Voting for 5,200 workers will take place May 13-17, the NLRB announced Thursday.

“The first thing you have to do to win is believe you can win,” Fain told Mercedes-Benz workers last month. “That this job can be better. That your life can be better. And that these things are worth fighting for. That’s why we stand up. That’s why you’re here today. Because deep down , you believe it’s possible.”

Fain previously pledged to go beyond the Big Three and expand to the “Big Five or Big Six” by the time his four-and-a-half-year contracts with the Detroit automakers expire in 2028. .