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US auto workers at VW plant reject bid to unionize
DETROIT, June 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The United Auto Workers union has
suffered a fresh defeat at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, with workers
narrowly voting down a move to organize the factory for a second time.
The UAW has never managed to fully organize a US plant owned by a foreign
manufacturer and a win at the German carmaker’s Chattanooga facility would
have been a significant victory.
But the 1,700-strong workforce at the factory rejected the move by a
margin of 833-776 in a ballot that concluded Friday.
The organizing effort was attacked by state Republicans and hampered by an
ongoing federal corruption probe, with a former vice president of the auto
union soon to be sentenced after pleading guilty to misappropriating funds.
“Pending certification of the results by the National Labor Relations
Board and a legal review of the election, Volkswagen will respect the
decision of the majority,” said the carmaker’s Chattanooga plant chief Frank
Fischer.
“We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with elected
officials and business leaders in Tennessee.”
UAW organizing director Tracy Romero said the company had engineered a
defeat in the vote through “fear and misinformation.”
“Over a period of nine weeks — an unprecedented length of time due to
legal gamesmanship –Volkswagen was able to break the will of enough workers
to destroy their majority,” she added.
A 2014 vote to organize the factory was defeated by a 53-47 percent margin
after stiff opposition from local politicians, who warned that a UAW victory
would make it harder to attract new jobs to Tennessee.
A smaller ballot of 160 skilled workers at the plant passed by a wide
margin the next year, but Volkswagen challenged the result.
Political interference and the current state of US labor laws contributed
to Friday’s defeat, UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said.
“This is a system designed to benefit corporate lawyers, not protect
worker rights,” he added.
BSS/AFP/HR/1225