Right to Work Group Enters Labor Fray at VW’s U.S. Plant

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is offering free legal advice to hourly workers at Volkswagen AG's assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., after the company said it is in talks about unionizing the factory.

The Springfield, Va.-based group tells Chattanooga's Times Free Press it fears that the facility's employees could be coerced to join a union and might not be permitted a secret-ballot vote on the issue. A union can win the right to represent workers if more than half of them sign cards asking their employer to recognize it.

VW said last month it has discussed a formation of a works council at the Tennessee plant with the United Auto Workers union. The UAW says it is interested in the proposal. A works council consists of representatives elected from within a plant who negotiate with the company for pay and working conditions.

Before a council could be created, employees would first vote on whether to join a specific union. VW has said the UAW would be a "natural partner" but that another union could seek to represent those workers. The company notes that all its roughly 100 factories worldwide except Chattanooga have labor representation.