Over 1,000 Workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga Factory Sign for UAW Representation

This marks a significant milestone in the UAW's nationwide drive to unionize nonunion auto factories, despite previous unsuccessful attempts at the same plant.

Over 1,000 workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee factory have signed cards authorizing a vote on representation by the United Auto Workers (UAW), marking the first plant in the U.S. to reach this milestone in the UAW's quest to organize nonunion factories.
The UAW's organizing drive covers nearly 150,000 workers at factories largely in the South, targeting plants run by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Tesla, and EV startups Rivian and Lucid.
Workers at the Chattanooga factory have complained about mistreatment by management, including mandatory overtime on Saturdays, and are seeking higher pay.
In November, Volkswagen gave workers an 11% pay raise at the Chattanooga plant, but the UAW says Volkswagen's pay still lags behind what workers make at UAW-represented auto plants.
Previous attempts to unionize the Chattanooga plant in 2014 and 2019 were unsuccessful, with workers voting against a factory-wide union under the UAW.