Volkswagen, UAW comment on certification of union results

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The National Labor Relations Board has certified the unionization vote of the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant.

With this news, both Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers (UAW) have provided a joint statement on those results.

Read their statement in full:

“The National Labor Relations Board has certified the results of the election in which Volkswagen Chattanooga employees voted for representation by the United Auto Workers. Volkswagen and union workers around the world have a long history of successfully building vehicles together, and we are jointly committed to a strong and successful future at Volkswagen Chattanooga with the UAW. We share many common goals: providing a positive working environment where employees are well compensated for their hard work building quality vehicles and share in the company’s success. Both sides are now focused on collective bargaining and entering negotiations in the spirit of working together to reach a fair agreement and build world-class automobiles together.”

Nearly 73% of Volkswagen employees voted in favor of the union.

But UAW tried to join Volkswagen twice before, in 2014 and 2019, and failed both times.

Some Democrats, including President Biden, congratulated the employees on their win. However, many republicans, including Gov. Bill Lee, believed it to be the wrong choice.

Other experts believe there are both pros and cons to the unionization.