The union loses again at Volkswagen while the workers of Chattanooga refuse the offer of the UAW



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CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the number of votes against the union at 863 and the number of factory workers at 1,659. These numbers were corrected to 833 and 1,609, respectively.

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Volkswagen employees in Chattanooga voted against the representation of the United Auto Workers union.

Of the 1,609 workers who voted this week in the unionization vote, 833 voted against the union and 776 voted in favor of the UAW.

"On behalf of Volkswagen, I would like to thank all our production and maintenance employees in Chattanooga for their participation in this week's vote on union representation," said Frank Fischer, Volkswagen Chattanooga President and CEO, tonight. "Our employees have spoken.In the expectation of certification of results by the NLRB and a legal re-examination of the election, Volkswagen will respect the decision of the majority."

The UAW immediately challenged the unionization process, saying it was "almost impossible for Volkswagen workers to form a union" in Chattanooga.

On Friday night, UAW spokesman Brian Rothenburg called on Congress to comprehensively review the country's labor laws and the NLRB rules "required for workers to be able to organize in the country. a production plant like VW.

"VW workers endured a system in which, even when they voted, the company refused to negotiate," Rothenberg said. "It is clear that Volkswagen was able to delay negotiations with the maintenance department and finally this vote between all the production and maintenance workers through legal games until they could undermine the vote. "

Although the UAW has now lost twice during the unionization election of all factory production employees in 2014 and again this week, the union has complained the company's refusal to recognize a smaller unit of the plant when workers voted three and a half years ago to join the UAW.

Tracy Romero, director of the UAW organization, said she was proud of Chattanooga Volkswagen workers facing the fear they endured.

"The company has been running a brutal campaign of fear and misinformation," Romero said.

Romero said that the UAW intended to seek help from VW union leaders in Europe to protect Chattanooga workers from retaliation. "The Chattanooga workers deserve the right to vote and deserve the right to be treated fairly, and we will hold Wolfsburg for it."

While political interference and spending by the right-wing group contributed to the loss, Rothenberg said that the current state of US labor laws made Volkswagen's efforts particularly difficult.

By law, VW workers will have to wait a year before deciding on next steps.

"In the end, this has always been the case for the Chattanooga workers who are the only VW workers in the world without a union," said Steve Cochran, president of Chattanooga UAW Local 42. "If people are wondering why the middle class is disappearing in this country, it's because it's almost impossible for workers to have access to collective bargaining."

The result comes after an avalanche of television, radio, print and digital ads that have flooded the region in recent weeks.

The range of ads was aimed at gaining the support of some 1,700 VW production workers and skilled workers eligible to vote.

VW workers who were pro-union had seized the opportunity to negotiate with the company on issues such as health and safety, working conditions, paid holidays and strengthening pension plans.

Perry Kyle, who has been with VW for more than seven years, said he previously worked in a union shop and that it "benefits an ordinary person like me".

The anti-union workers said that they did not need the Detroit-based UAW to speak on their behalf, while they have already spoken to them. factory. They criticized the UAW for continuing the government's investigation of corruption conducted by the federal government and for what they saw as unfair attacks by the UAW and the United States. of his supporters against the automaker.

Mary Morrison, a quality control employee for eight years, said the union was simply not needed and "I do not want it out the door".

The VW Chattanooga plant assembles the Passat mid-size sedan and the Atlas SUV, employing around 3,500 people. This week's vote was the third union election in five years at the factory.

In 2014, the UAW lost an election by a margin of 712 to 626. About a year later, a smaller group of specialized workers approved the union by 108 votes to 44.

But the company refused to negotiate with the unit, saying it wanted a vote from all the production and maintenance workers. Last month, the union disavowed the small group and the National Labor Relations Board approved the union's petition for the new election.

Tennessee's governor, Bill Lee, has announced his intention to "take what's going on and go forward." I mean, let's take the situation we have and work to make sure that Volkswagen remains an important part of our identity and that our strength is developed in a way that helps them to continue to grow ".

Some legislators in Hamilton counties had stated that a union victory would make it more difficult to approve future incentives for VW.

"I did not think about it much," said the governor. "I think we have to have one thing behind us before we know – see how this vote is going and then we'll start thinking about the future."

According to the NLRB, any party may oppose the conduct of the election or behavior affecting the results within seven days.

The Chattanooga Labor Lawyer, Dan Gilmore, noted that in 2014, the UAW opposed the comments made at the time by the United States. Senator Bob Corker and former Gov. Bill Haslam.

Volkswagen said during this year's campaign that it would remain "neutral", but said it "could do more for the company and its team by pursuing an open dialogue, as we have done." have done so successfully so far ".

"Nevertheless, we respect the right of our workers to decide on representation and we will respect the decision of our team," said the company.

The union is trying to reverse decades of attrition in its ranks. The UAW has only about a quarter of its members in 1979, while the UAW had more than 1.5 million members.

Last year, the UAW lost more than 35,000 members, a 9% drop, the Detroit News reported, citing documents filed with the US Department of Labor.

The union indicates in the filing that it had 395,703 members in 2018, compared to 430,871 in 2017. Last year, it was the first time in nine years that the number of its members was declining Great recession.

Contact Mike Pare at [email protected] or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.

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