Volkswagen workers vote union in Tennessee – big test for organized labor

The United Auto Workers is hoping the third time will prove the charm in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as the labor group tries to make inroads in Southern states, where employers and elected officials have long opposed the union.

With the final votes cast Friday by 4,300 Volkswagen workers deciding whether to join the UAW, expectations are rising among labor advocates that the union will prevail after two failed attempts.

“A lot depends on what happens now and what will be decided tonight,” Harley Shaiken, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, told CBS MoneyWatch. “This is an important movement for workers in Chattanooga, but more broadly for workers in the South and for organized labor more generally.”

The UAW’s chances of victory appear strong, given that about 70% of the plant’s workers pledged to vote in favor of the union before asking for the vote, according to the union. Voting that began Wednesday ends Friday at 8 p.m. ET, with vote counting expected to take a few hours.

The UAW set its sights on organizing foreign auto companies after last fall’s historic six-week strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis that led to great salary benefits.

“If they can’t organize at Volkswagen, you have to question their ability to organize at one of these Southern auto plants,” John Logan, chair of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Regional area?

The UAW has tried unsuccessfully to organize in the South’s auto industries for decades, making progress in the region’s few large truck and bus stations. The vote is the UAW’s third attempt at the plant, where workers boycotted union membership in 2014 and 2019. The UAW also lost a 2017 vote at a Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi.

A UAW victory would give the union a key position in the region, where organizing typically means fighting not just the company but the entire community, including the political and business establishment, Logan said.

Earlier in the week, the governors of six states – Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas – opposed the union’s efforts, saying it endangers jobs in their states.

If the UAW wins, the Volkswagen plant will be the only foreign-owned commercial vehicle manufacturer in the United States. It will also be the first auto plant to join the UAW since its move to target the Big Three automakers in Detroit.

It is fueled by the Big Three strike

“Interest in the UAW has been fueled by the remarkable success of the Detroit Three contract negotiations last year. About 13 non-union automakers have raised wages to reduce the desire to organize and this success is widely known as the ‘UAW cap,'” Shaiken said.

In the case of Germany’s Volkswagen, which has unionized workers around the world, opposition to the UAW’s efforts has been less intense than that seen by other unions, Logan noted.

In fact, the Chattanooga plant is the only Volkswagen facility of about 120 worldwide that does not have some form of employee representation.

“We respect our employees’ right to a democratic process and decide who should represent their interests. We fully support the NLRB’s vote so every team member has the opportunity to vote by secret ballot on this important decision. Volkswagen is proud of our work environment. Chattanooga that offers some of the best paying jobs in the area,” the company said.

The VW vote will be followed by another vote next month at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama.