UAW Hopes to Organize VW Plant Next Year
United Auto Workers union President Dennis Williams tells Reuters the UAW hopes to be recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for hourly workers at Volkswagen AG's factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., before the end of next year.
#labor
United Auto Workers union President Dennis Williams tells Reuters the UAW hopes to be recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for hourly workers at Volkswagen AG's factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., before the end of next year.
The union narrowly lost a worker ballot there in February to gain that right. It set up a nearby non-bargaining local, Local 42, anyway and says it has since attracted a majority of the plant's current 1,500-member hourly workforce.
If it can prove the statistic to VW, the UAW believes it can win formal recognition as the bargaining agent for the factory's workers even without a new vote. Earlier this month Local 42 elected officers who plan to open talks with the company about formal representation.
The union launched a similar strategy in early October when it chartered non-bargaining Local 112 near Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The union's goal is to eventually establish European-style works councils at both facilities.
RELATED CONTENT
-
GM, PSA Execs Rush to Build Support for Opel Sale
Top executives from General Motors Co. and PSA Group are scrambling to build support among alarmed European government and labor leaders for a plan to integrate GM’s Opel unit with PSA.
-
Japanese Models Top “Most-American” List
The five most “American” models sold in the U.S. in terms of local content and labor all carry Japanese brands, says Cars.com.
-
UPDATE: UAW, GM Reach Tentative Labor Deal
General Motors Co. and the United Auto Workers union have reached a possible deal on a new four-year labor contract covering some 48,000 of the union’s hourly workers in the U.S.