UAW accuses Volkswagen of union busting
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Some Volkswagen (VW) workers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) say they have had enough of the treatment they have received from the plant.
Dozens of people came out Monday to voice their concerns about the plant and believe now is the time to unionize.
For Volkswagen employees like Zachary Costello, they believe unionizing is necessary for numerous reasons including pay, benefits, and safety.
Costello said, “We’re supposed to have like a safety representative for every line, but I haven’t seen anybody walk the line and check for safety issues. When I was on the line, I didn’t even know who my safety guy was.”
Workers and activists demonstrating in front of the main Volkswagen entrance over allegations of union busting.
On Monday, the President of the UAW, Shawn Fain, came personally to throw his support for the unionization effort.
Fain said, “Volkswagen alone has made $78 billion since 2020 in profits. They paid $24 billion in dividends to their corporate executives and shareholders. Workers haven’t received the fruits of their labor.”
He alluded t0 a tense standoff with VW officials.
He said, “We came here today to deliver a letter to the company, asking them to cease the union busting tactics, and they refused to come out and accept the letter.”
However, in a statement to News 12, VW denies this claim saying the following:
“Volkswagen refutes any claims of union-busting, intimidation or illegal violations of worker rights at our Chattanooga plant. Labor representation is part of our company’s culture; half of our global Supervisory Board members are labor representatives. We respect our workers’ right to decide the question of union representation. And we remain committed to providing accurate information that helps inform them of their rights and choices.
Volkswagen management cordially accepted the CALEB letter from a group of employees today inside the factory.
Media were asked to leave in accordance to our strict media visitation policies at VW Chattanooga. Any media must be cleared in advance through the Volkswagen PR team.”
This is something several employees say is not true.
Another VW employee, Issac Meadows, said, “They can’t intimidate us anymore, from kicking us out from handing out flyers in the parking lot all the way down to our immediate supervisors throwing away our literature and intimidating the lower employees and workers on the line.”
The last time UAW attempted to unionize the Volkswagen plant was in 2019, and that vote failed by 57 votes.
However, there is belief this vote will be different.
Costello said, “The energy is way different now. There was so many people like would have like these unsure conversations. Nowadays, people are seeing what happened with the Big Three. We are seeing a country of workers standing up to their bosses saying hey, hey this isn’t right.”
Mr. Fain said that he believed that a vote on unionization could happen here as soon as early 2024.
The UAW has filed a NLRB complaint about this union busting and says they are filing more complaints against VW.
