Volkswagen workers in US vote to join the United Autoworkers Union

Published: 20 April 2024 at 02:19

Business

Volkswagen workers in Tennessee voted 73% in favor to join the United Autoworkers Union, marking the union's first election win at a car factory in the American South in decades. This victory comes after two prior failed votes amidst political opposition. The US has seen a rise in union-related activities, with strikes and petitions increasing since the pandemic, involving various sectors like Hollywood actors, Starbucks baristas, and healthcare workers. The move could inspire employees at other factories in the region to unionize, with future UAW elections planned at Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama and a push at other factories.

DEEP DIVE

United Auto Workers Union Mobilizes in the South, Targeting Volkswagen and Mercedes Plants

The United Auto Workers union has filed a petition for a union election at the Mercedes plant in Vance, Ala, and Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn, are preparing to vote in their union election. This surge in union interest follows the UAW's strike against the Big 3 automakers last fall. Despite the South's historical resistance to labor unions due to right-to-work laws, the UAW has garnered significant support at non-union plants in a short period, backed by a $40 million pledge for the cause.

UAW to Hold Unionization Vote at Volkswagen's Chattanooga Plant

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced a unionization vote at Volkswagen's assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after securing contracts with Detroit's Big Three automakers. The Chattanooga plant, employing about 4,100 workers, will be the first test of UAW's effort to organize non-union auto plants across the U.S. Workers at the plant have complained about mistreatment by Volkswagen management and are seeking higher pay. The NLRB will oversee the election process, with Volkswagen expressing respect for workers' rights to determine their representation. The UAW aims to unionize workers at multiple non-union auto plants, including those run by Tesla, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, and others.

United Auto Workers at Volkswagen's U.S. factory voting on joining union

Workers at Volkswagen's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are voting this week on whether to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the union's third attempt to organize the plant. The UAW has tried unsuccessfully in the past to represent nonunion U.S. auto factories, particularly those built by Asian and European automakers in southern states. The union sees momentum after successful contracts with major automakers and plans to target non-union automakers like Volkswagen, Tesla, Toyota, Honda, and Mercedes.

United Auto Workers Face Key Test in Volkswagen Plant Union Vote

The United Auto Workers are seeking to expand to nonunion factories, with a crucial vote at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The UAW, under new leadership, is offering higher wages following successful confrontations with Detroit automakers. Despite resistance from Volkswagen and Southern governors, the union is confident of victory. Meanwhile, workers at Mercedes-Benz's Alabama plant will vote on unionization. The UAW's push for expansion comes after securing contracts with major automakers and facing opposition from state leaders in the South.

Republican governors condemn UAW's efforts to organize car factories in the South

Six Republican governors, from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, criticize the United Auto Workers' (UAW) attempts to organize car factories in their states, particularly highlighting the ongoing union vote at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant. The governors argue against external intervention in employment decisions, linking the UAW's campaign to support President Joe Biden's reelection. Despite the UAW's success in negotiating contracts for workers at major automakers, the union faces pushback as it aims to expand its reach into nonunion companies, including foreign automakers and electric vehicle manufacturers.

2023 United Auto Workers strike (Wikipedia)

The 2023 United Auto Workers strike was a labor strike involving automobile workers in the labor union United Auto Workers (UAW) and the three unionized automakers in the United States—Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Stellantis. These three automakers' factories combined employ about 145,000 UAW members and produce about 50 percent of the vehicles manufactured annually in the US, accounting for 1.5 percent of US GDP. The strike began on September 15, 2023, when the union was unable to reach a deal with the three automakers. It was the first trilateral strike against the three automakers in the union's history.The hardline stance taken by the newly elected UAW president Shawn Fain contributed to the UAW's decision to strike. In particular, he has criticized stagnant wages that do not account for inflation and has called for the end of a tiered employment system that underpays newer employees, the restoration of overtime and retirement benefits that were lost as a result of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the institution of a four-day workweek, and improved worker protections against plant closures as electric vehicle production increases.A central concern for the automakers is the cost of labor relative to domestic and foreign non-union competitors, particularly as the industry transitions to electric vehicle manufacturing. The automakers have stated that they anticipate the need to invest a significant portion of their profits from gasoline-powered vehicles into new production technology for electric vehicles.The strike was suspended in the last week of October as the automakers made tentative deals that largely matched the UAW demands, starting with Ford on October 25, followed by Stellantis on October 28 and finally General Motors on October 30. In announcing the deals with the automakers, UAW instructed workers to return to the job, thus ending the 46-day labor strike on October 30th. The new contracts would be ratified when individual UAW membership voting with all three companies ended from November 16-17 2023.

United Auto Workers (Wikipedia)

The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and southern Ontario, Canada. It was founded as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and grew rapidly from 1936 to the 1950s. The union played a major role in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party under the leadership of Walter Reuther (president 1946–1970). It was known for gaining high wages and pensions for automotive manufacturing workers, but it was unable to unionize auto plants built by foreign-based car makers in the South after the 1970s, and it went into a steady decline in membership; reasons for this included increased automation, decreased use of labor, mismanagement, movements of manufacturing (including reaction to NAFTA), and increased globalization.UAW members in the 21st century work in industries including autos and auto parts, health care, casino gambling, and higher education. The union is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. As of February 24, 2022, the UAW has more than 391,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members in over 600 local unions, and holds 1,150 contracts with some 1,600 employers. It holds assets amounting to $1,026,568,450.

Autoworker Caravan (Wikipedia)

The Autoworker Caravan is an advocacy group dedicated to promoting the interests of Unionized American Autoworkers. It is primarily based in Detroit Michigan, but has a network of activists covering virtually every major American facility operated by the Big Three automobile manufacturers. The Caravan is composed of both active and retired UAW members. It is also sometimes referred to as the AWC.The group's stated mission is "to be the Autoworker's advocate", by promoting ideals such as solidarity, labor justice, and green economic progress. Occasionally it opposes official UAW policies and agenda when they are not in the best interest of workers. Some Caravan members produce articles, op-eds, weblog posts, YouTube interviews, and are frequent guests in the media. They conduct workshop conferences and public forums to broaden the parameters of automotive policy debate to allow greater consideration of labor's role.The Autoworker Caravan started in December 2008 as a grass roots effort by auto workers to lobby Congress during the 2008 - 2009 auto-bailout proceedings on Capitol Hill. It grew in response to the 2009 labor contract modifications forced upon General Motors and Chrysler workers on the eve of each automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy. Caravan members played a role in convincing Ford workers to reject similar labor contract modifications later that year.Caravan members have been critical of UAW President Bob King's stance on several issues, including the South Korea - United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), a two-tier system for wages and benefits implemented in the 2007 UAW contracts, and King’s refusal to support a large group of non-union workers fired from GM's plant in Colombia after they were injured on the job. Caravan members have praised UAW initiatives on other issues, such as Bob King’s plan to organize the foreign southern auto transplant workers, and King’s support for collective bargaining rights in places such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan.The group is best known for its annual demonstrations outside the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Shawn Fain (Wikipedia)

Shawn Fain (born 1968) is an American labor unionist who has served as president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) since March 2023. An electrician by trade, he worked at a Stellantis automotive parts plant in Kokomo, Indiana. He has been a UAW member for 29 years, and is a member of the reform caucus, Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD). Fain was the first UAW president directly elected by the union's members, and was a central figure in the 2023 United Auto Workers strike.In 2023, Fain ran for the presidency of the union against incumbent Ray Curry, leading a slate named UAW Members United that focused on opposing corruption, concessions, and tiered pay structures. In the first election in which members of the union directly elected the president, Fain won the election by 477 votes and took office in March.In office, he advocates a more aggressive negotiating style, more member participation, and for the union to actively support politicians who share the union's agenda. Fain's relative labor militancy and bargaining style contributed to the UAW's decision to authorize the 2023 United Auto Workers strike.

UAW (disambiguation) (Wikipedia)

The United Auto Workers, or UAW, is an American labor union.UAW may also refer to:Under Accumulator of Wealth, a term used in the book The Millionaire Next DoorUnion of American Women, women's association founded in 1934Union of Australian Women, Australian women's organisationUniverse at War: Earth Assault, a RTS video game by Petroglyph GamesUrban Assault Weapon, a weapons program

UAW-Ford University (Wikipedia)

The UAW-Ford University is an online program designed and implemented by the University of Michigan under contract with the National Program Center of the United Auto Workers Union and Ford Motor Company. Its goal is to facilitate the college educations of UAW bargained for employees using distance learning technologies and pedagogies developed at Michigan. The program began in 1999. Its innovative use of both synchronous and asynchronous technologies let to the award of Laureate status from the Computerworld/Smithsonian Honors Program.The UAW-Ford University program has a partnership with the online Empire State College.

Student Researchers United-UAW (Wikipedia)

Student Researchers United-UAW (SRU-UAW) was a union representing student researchers at the University of California (UC). It was part of the United Auto Workers. The union was composed of more than 17,000 people who work across 10 UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. They were the largest 2021 addition to the UAW, accounting for 0.1% of union members in the US, and, according to organizers, were "the largest academic student employee union in US history." The union later joined UAW 2865 and ceased to be an independent entity.

Starbucks unions (Wikipedia)

As of June 2023, over 8,000 workers at over 360 Starbucks stores in at least 40 states in the United States have voted to unionize, primarily with Workers United. As of March 2023 none have yet enacted a collective bargaining agreement. This unionization effort started at a store in Buffalo, New York. About a third of Starbucks' Chilean workforce is already unionized, as well as 450 workers in New Zealand and eight stores in Canada. The longest Starbucks strike lasted 64 days, took place in Brookline, Massachusetts in September 2022 and resulted in the unionization of the employees at that location.Starbucks Workers United has conducted strikes at over 190 store locations for more than 450 total days striking. SBWU has conducted numerous strikes over the course of its campaign. The largest strike action to date was on March 22, 2023 where 117 union locations staged the "One Day Longer, One Day Stronger" strike to commemorate outlasting interim-CEO Howard Schultz, who resigned prior to the Senate HELP committee hearing on union-busting sanctioned by Schultz.Previously in the United States, there had been inconsistent unionization efforts beginning in the 1980s. Many of those unions folded, in part due to the company's long history of opposing unionization efforts. Warehouse and roasting plant workers in Seattle were Starbucks' first to unionize in 1985. During contract negotiation, the bargaining unit expanded to include store workers but the same workers moved to decertify their representation within two years.Starbucks stores and a distribution plant unionized in British Columbia in the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s. The company strongly opposed unionization efforts in the 2000s through present day, with multiple National Labor Relations Board complaints ending in settlements or findings of labor law violations. The Industrial Workers of the World led an organizing campaign in the mid-2000s based in New York City that did not result in union recognition.In December 2021, the Elmwood Avenue store in Buffalo became the first location in the United States to unionize in the 2020s. The first union vote in Starbucks' hometown of Seattle was unanimously in favor of the union.

California Fast-Food Workers to Receive a Minimum Wage of $20 an Hour

California will increase the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour, providing a 25% raise for many workers in some of the country's biggest chains like McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway, and Pizza Hut. This change uniquely affects fast-food workers, who have historically been some of the lowest-paid employees in the U.S. California, being one of the most expensive states, has around half a million fast-food workers, mostly comprising women, immigrants, and people of color. The pay raise has sparked debates about its impact on local businesses.

Mercedes-Benz Delays Transition to Electric Vehicles

Mercedes-Benz has revised its plan to sell only electric vehicles by 2030, stating that it now expects only 50% of its sales to be all-electric, with gas and hybrid vehicles remaining in production. The company's CEO mentioned that transitioning to EV-only sales is not expected to happen by 2030, even in Europe. This shift reflects a broader trend in the auto industry, with other companies like GM and Ford also adjusting their EV plans due to weak demand. The Biden administration is reportedly considering delaying requirements for auto companies to increase EV sales until after 2030.

Sesame Street Writers Vote to Strike Over Pay and Union Coverage

Writers for Sesame Workshop, the producer of Sesame Street and other children's shows, are prepared to strike if a fair collective bargaining agreement is not reached before their contract expires. They are requesting industry standard annual raises, improvements to residuals, and union coverage for animation and social media segments. Picketing is set to begin outside the offices in New York next week. Sesame Workshop remains hopeful for a resolution. Writers Guild of America East and West members are involved in the negotiations. Previous strikes by WGA and SAG-AFTRA in 2023 impacted Hollywood.