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MichMan

(11,950 posts)
Sat Jun 15, 2019, 01:51 AM Jun 2019

VW union vote: Chattanooga workers decide against joining UAW

Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted against joining the United Auto Workers, sending a strong rebuke to the country's largest industrial union.

Employees voted 833 to 776 to reject unionization, amid concerns that unionization could temper the German automaker's interest in Tennessee, according to the automaker. Volkswagen employs about 1,700 workers and 3,200 temporary workers at its Chattanooga plant.

“Our employees have spoken," said Frank Fischer, president and CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga in an emailed statement. "Volkswagen will respect the decision of the majority."

The election, limited to full-time employees, began June 12 and ended June 14. A total of 1,609 votes were cast in the election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, according to Volkswagen. The NLRB will need to certify the results and there will be a legal review, Fischer said.


[link:https://www.freep.com/story/money/2019/06/14/volkswagen-vw-uaw-union-vote-chattanooga-result/1409136001/|

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VW union vote: Chattanooga workers decide against joining UAW (Original Post) MichMan Jun 2019 OP
unionization could temper the German automaker's interest in Tennessee, according to the automaker. elleng Jun 2019 #1
American unions are a piece of cake these days, especially when compared to German unions ... marble falls Jun 2019 #2
the messiah trump will save them nt msongs Jun 2019 #3
What does not seem to be answered in that story PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2019 #4

elleng

(131,025 posts)
1. unionization could temper the German automaker's interest in Tennessee, according to the automaker.
Sat Jun 15, 2019, 01:54 AM
Jun 2019

So THAT's how they do it, scared German automaker.

marble falls

(57,136 posts)
2. American unions are a piece of cake these days, especially when compared to German unions ...
Sat Jun 15, 2019, 02:00 AM
Jun 2019

in fact DMW invited the UAW into their Carolina plant because VW believes that union shops build better cars and facilitates team building inside the plant to build more and higher quality cars. Anyone not joining a union when they have the opportunity is making a mistake.

The older I get, the more pro-union I am. I was a member of UAW when I worked in a tire mold shop in Akron, Ohio and I felt the union got me paid better in a safer shop.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,867 posts)
4. What does not seem to be answered in that story
Sat Jun 15, 2019, 07:26 AM
Jun 2019

is why the workers voted against the UAW.

Many years ago I was an airline ticket agent. We went through several rounds of attempts at unionizing us, which continued long after I left that job. What usually happened was that the company would make grandiose promises to keep us from voting for the union. Promises which were never kept.

I'm a union supporter from way back. In my youth I belonged to the CWA, Communication Workers of America, back when I worked for Ma Bell. Years later I was almost a Teamster, but didn't last long enough in the job. And that was because I left the job on my own, not for any other reason.

When I was that airline ticket agent, at National Airport in Washington, DC, even though we were not unionized, we benefitted enormously from unions. This was back in the 1970s. Here's what I'm talking about. We were hourly workers, of course. But any day that we worked more than 8 hours, we were paid time and a half, even if we didn't work more than 40 hours that week. Which actually never happened, given our schedules. But that's not important. We also got time and a half on Sundays and holidays, again regardless of how many hours we worked that week. It was a job that involved a lot of involuntary overtime, as flights ran late or were cancelled for whatever reason. I recall making a significant amount of money in overtime in the early years, and even later on when I could avoid some of the involuntary overtime, I still benefitted from the more than 8 hours in a day and the Sunday and holiday time and a half.

My father was a union employee also, although he never really talked about it. IAM. International Association of Machinists. He was not at all active in the union, and certainly never talked about it, but I grew up knowing he was a member.

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