The UAW establishes itself at Volkswagen in the United States

Volkswagen’s American plant in the United States will now have union representation. Workers at the Chattanooga (Tennessee) site voted overwhelmingly to support the proposal from the UAW (United Auto Workers, the main union in the US auto industry).

Volkswagen remained neutral

73% of the 5,500 workers at this plant agreed to be represented by the UAW. This is the first time for the powerful union that until now had been able to establish itself in the factories of American manufacturers.

Read also: The UAW union wants to expand its influence in the United States

“Volkswagen employees have written history!” the UAW said in a post on X.

For its part, Volkswagen considered the results of the vote after having a neutral attitude towards the issues of the vote. In a statement, the German automaker said that all “was held by a democratic vote, by secret ballot, monitored by the National Labor Relations Board“(NLRB), the federal agency responsible for labor law.”Volkswagen thanks its Chattanooga employees for voting“, added the manufacturer.

A historic strike

Pour Shawn Fain, UAW president since March 2023, this is a new victory. The election comes just months after a historic strike last collapsed that forced American manufacturers to introduce a major wage increase. The strike lasted about six weeks and resulted in a plan to increase wages by 25 percent over four years.

Read also: The UAW strike is officially over

It was on the strength of this victory that the UAW relaunched a campaign among foreign-owned factories that had never established itself. A vote is also scheduled for mid-May 2024 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance (Alabama), which employs more than 6,000 workers. The UAW is also targeting Hyundai sites in Alabama and Toyota in Missouri.

This achievement is shared by Joe Biden who is currently campaigning for re-election in the next US presidential election. Last September, he supported a strike led by the UAW by going to the polls. The President of the United States welcomed the results of the Chattanooga vote.