Source: Gasgoo
Workers at Volkswagen Tennessee plant have formally voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), which has launched unionization activities with Tesla, Volkswagen and other car companies since last year.
According to a UAW announcement released on April 19, workers at Chattanooga plant have completed voting with 2,628 voting in favor and 985 voting against. The results is now awaiting formal certification by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). VW will need to begin collective bargaining with the UAW over workers’ salaries and working conditions after the official result. On April 19, Volkswagen said in a statement that the company appreciated workers’ vote in this campaign.
Shawn Fain, the President of UAW, responded that Volkswagen was “the first domino to fall.” He also said the union plans to use the victory as a momentum to continue organizing campaign inside the plants of other foreign automakers.
Image source: Volkswagen
“I think it’s going to have a chain reaction,” Fain said. “Once we prove to the world that this is working, it will open the door for thousands of other workers to come on board and get fairness at work.”
There are about 4,300 employees in the Chattanooga plant. Workers at Benz’s Tuscaloosa plant will also vote on whether to join the UAW in May, and an NLRB vote will also be held between May 13 to 17.
Last year, the UAW formally launched a union campaign with 13 automakers with non-union plants in the United States, including Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes and others.
