United Auto Workers, Volkswagen discussing labor board in Chattanooga
Talk is resurfacing of the United Auto Workers Union having a presence at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant.
Recent auto industry reports have said UAW and VW have begun talking about setting up a German-style labor board for the plant, which opened in 2011.
According to a Fox Business report, VW and UAW officials have discussed establishing a "works council labor board" for the plant, which could be unveiled as early as May or June. The development would mark an "about-face" for Volkswagen, which has declined to open its new plant to the UAW since it opened.
Local officials, including Sen. Bob Corker, have also vocally opposed union representation at the plant.
Tony Cervone, national spokesman for VW, was quoted saying any decision regarding formal representation by a union would be determined by a vote of employees.
"We have said that we want our employees to have a strong voice in our operations in Chattanooga, based on the social charter of the company, and we believe we are operating with those principals," Cervone was quoted saying. "We have always said that any choice of formal representation by a union in the U.S. will be based on a vote of the workers at the facility."
The plant currently employs 2,400 workers.
If the works council labor board were to be created and implemented, the impact could potentially be wide-ranging, particularly for other auto manufacturing plants in the South, which are historically opposed to unions.
To read the Fox Business report, click here.
To read a report by Automotive News, click here.
