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German Union Urges VW’s U.S. Workers to Join UAW
Germany's IG Metall union has encouraged hourly employees at Volkswagen AG's Chattanooga, Tenn., assembly plant to vote for representation by the United Auto Workers union, Reuters reports.
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Germany's IG Metall union has encouraged hourly employees at Volkswagen AG's Chattanooga, Tenn., assembly plant to vote for representation by the United Auto Workers union, Reuters reports.
The news service cites a letter than IG Metall President Berthold Huber sent to the factory's 2,350 workers early this month. "You need union representation," Huber wrote. Leaders of IG Metall, which represents VW workers in Germany, "strongly recommend" UAW membership.
IG Metall's participation is the second signal that the American union might finally succeed in its quest to organize a foreign-owned auto plant. VW human resources chief Horst Neumann said last week that the company was likely to propose a German-style works council at the Chattanooga facility this spring.
Works councils represent employees at the plant level, while national unions negotiate contracts. Neumann said VW had discussed the plan with the UAW, which he called a "natural partner."
President Bob King declares that the UAW welcomes the works council model because it reflects the union's new, less adversarial relationship with companies.
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