UAW Wins Historic Victory In U.S. South With Vote At VW Plant – IOTW Report

UAW Wins Historic Victory In U.S. South With Vote At VW Plant

OAN: DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union won its first organizing vote at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the U.S. South on Friday, in a groundbreaking victory after decades of failed attempts.

About 71 percent of skilled trades workers who cast ballots at Volkswagen AG’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee voted to join the UAW, according to the company and the union.

The skilled trades workers account for about 11 percent of the 1,450 hourly employees at the plant.

If the UAW victory, as expected, survives an appeal by Volkswagen to the National Labor Relations Board, the 164 skilled trades workers will be the first foreign-owned auto assembly plant workers to gain collective bargaining rights in the southern United States.

While the unit of skilled trades workers who maintain the assembly machinery are a fraction of the hourly work force, observers said the victory was significant and could serve as a launching pad for the union’s efforts to organize other foreign-owned plants in the south.  more here

20 Comments on UAW Wins Historic Victory In U.S. South With Vote At VW Plant

  1. I remember reading about this a while back. The socialist VW leadership let it happen and didn’t put up any resistance.
    Between this and the EPA lawsuit over their “clean diesel” I bet VW doesn’t last more than five years.

  2. Here comes nothing but work slowdowns and poor union quality for few more dollars. Stupid, stupid Americans never learn a thing.

    Everyone but the now union “skilled” employees should get a holiday bonus. Then a raise, a floating holiday, and hour shortened work day with the new higher pay.

  3. 71% of 11% of 1450.

    I’d have to say that would be easily replaceable in the Chattanooga area. Lot of highly skilled people in that part of Tennessee.

    I don’t live far from there and I’m familiar with the labor market in the area.

    But globally, VW is friendly to unions. So let ’em suck it. A Passat retails today for what a decent house did in 1970. Maybe they can get it up to ’80’s pricing with union help.

  4. I wonder when VW will get a bailout now? People already bought their clunkers for cash without a program in place. Let’s hope the union doubles down and destroys VW in short order rather than a protracted financial morass.

  5. Did I read this right? “Skilled workers make up 11% of the 1450 hourly employees”. (approximately 150 people). “71% of the skilled workers voted to join the union”. (71% of 150=app 120 people). It became a union shop because of 120 votes, or did I read this wrong?

  6. Prediction: …within 10 years this plant will faze out ‘skilled’ positions & truck the ‘skill’ work to another plant……. or VW will price themselves into a niche market…..they’re already close to that now.
    …everything the Unions touch ends up being totally corrupted

  7. The biggest problem these douche-nozzles have is that there very likely will not be a Volkswagen a year from now. VW may not survive the crisis they brought on themselves with their fraudulent environmental controls on every diesel engine they have sold since at least 2007.

    Let the UAW yap about their victory today, they will be singing a different tune when VW is forced to fold.

  8. Here we (the South) goes again…it’s Norma Ray vs the Big Corporate Profit Takers.

    Southerners went through this in the 50’s and within 20 years all the “great jobs” the Textile unions created went to Mexico. Left them with just their “tooth” in their mouths.

    I’m with the rest of you…I’m no VW fan (except for my 69 Baja Bug that I drove in HS) and would never own one. So I really don’t care. I am worried what this will do to the “non-union” manufacturing swath that runs through the South from roughly Richmond to Mississippi. Chattanooga was one of its shinning stars. Probably is the beginning of the end and will usher in a “couple-three” decades of poverty.

    Dumb fools will never learn.

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