NLRB postpones Volkswagen Union vote decision at least 7 days

WASHINGTON D.C. (WDEF) – The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday slowed down the push for a new election vote at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant.. at least for a week.

Bloomberg News reports that UAW and Volkswagen officials met for a couple of hours on Wednesday with the NLRB.

Board officials gave both sides another week to file more paperwork on their perspective claims.

The United Auto Workers were hoping the NLRB would have picked a date at the end of the month for a company-wide election.

But Volkswagen wants the NRLB to first rule on the fate of the “micro-union” that represents just around 160 maintenance workers out of the thousands of employees at the plant.

The company has refused to negotiate with the small union, saying they only want to deal with a union representing all workers.

Of course, workers rejected a UAW vote for the entire plant five years ago (see a timeline of the union arguments here).

The UAW has offered to disavow the micro-union if it will speed up a new vote.

The timing of the vote matters a lot, according to legal experts.

Labor attorneys say that quick vote almost always goes in favor of the union, which has already been lobbying workers for their petition drive.

Companies will often try to delay votes to improve their chances.

We’ll find out next Wednesday who wins the next round in the union vote issue for Chattanooga.