Volkswagen workers vote overwhelmingly to join the UAW
Volkswagen workers vote overwhelmingly to join the UAW
Hourly workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee overwhelming voted to join the United Auto Workers late Friday, a major breakthrough in the union’s effort to organize workers at plants nationwide.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
If the union can win the right to represent workers across the broad swath of the nonunion auto plants, it could increase their leverage in future contract negotiations.
The union has announced an effort to represent workers at not only Volkswagen, but also nine other foreign automakers with American plants — BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and Volvo.
Production workers working under the recent UAW contract now make about $36 an hour, or about $75,000 a year before overtime, bonuses and benefits.
Bill Lee as well as the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, signed a letter this week arguing those nonunion jobs would be at risk if the union won Friday’s vote.
“This victory sends a powerful message to corporate interests everywhere: Workers will no longer tolerate exploitation and mistreatment,” said the AFL-CIO’s statement.
“Whether it’s autoworkers in Tennessee, film crews in Hollywood, hotel workers in Las Vegas or baristas at the local coffee shop, when working people stand together in solidarity, we have the power to enact meaningful change and usher in a brighter future for all.”
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