Tennessee Volkswagen workers to vote on union membership in test of UAW's plan to expand its ranks

FILE - A “We stand with the UAW” sign appears outside of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga , Tenn., on Dec. 18, 2023. Workers at at the Tennessee factory are scheduled to finish voting Friday, April 19, 2024, on whether they want to be represented by the United Auto Workers union. FILE - UAW President Shawn Fain speaks to the media after visiting the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga , Tenn., on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.

The UAW’s supporters have faced stout resistance, though, from Volkswagen, which argues that union membership isn’t necessary. The company contends that its pay levels are competitive for the Chattanooga area and that it treats its employees well. The factory’s 4,300 production workers make Atlas SUVs and the ID.4 electric vehicle at the 3.8 million-square-foot plant.

Shortly after the Detroit contracts were ratified, Volkswagen and other nonunion companies handed their workers big pay raises. Fain characterized those wage increases as the “UAW bump” and asserted that they were intended to keep the union out of the plants. Zach Costello, a worker who trains new employees at the Volkswagen plant, said pay shouldn’t be benchmarked against typical wages in the Chattanooga area.VW asserts that its factories are safer than the industry average, based on data reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And the company contends that it considers workers’ preferences in scheduling.

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