CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Some 4,200 autoworkers at the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., are ready to strike—over the foreign carmaker’s local bosses’ stalling in talks, and labor law-breaking. And that’s despite flak from a locally powerful right-wing Republican politician.
If this scenario sounds familiar to the followers of Auto Workers Local 42’s successful fight for a union in Chattanooga, it is.
That’s because the first time the union tried to organize the Deep South plant, years ago, workers were scared off by political threats of yanking subsidies for the firm’s expansion plans. The threats came from Tennessee’s governor and legislature and Chattanooga’s then-mayor.
This time, Hamilton County Commissioner Jeff Eversole declares workers must knuckle under and accept a substandard first contract, 18 months after 84% of those voting went union and after 13 months of talks, which have seen little progress.
And nothing doing, says Steve Cochran, a lead UAW bargainer in these negotiations for a first contract. The automaker has repeatedly stalled, broken labor law, and bargained in bad faith, he told the Senate Labor Committee on October 8.
But while labor law is broken and pro-employer and needs a big rewrite, Cochran added, it also must be enforced. And the federal government isn’t doing that, he testified.
Eversole’s got the background to advocate corporate greed and exploitation. His campaign website proudly proclaims he’s a conservative Republican. He brags that he spent years as a manager of Walmart stores in Southeastern Tennessee. He didn’t reveal that Walmart flagrantly breaks labor laws.
And as a pol, Eversole can break labor law to his heart’s content. If VW execs said the things he’s saying, they’d face even more unfair labor practices charges, the formal name for labor law-breaking.
The union reports that after bargaining for 13 months and “months of unfair labor practices by the company, including bad faith negotiations, unlawful intimidation, and the unilateral cutting of jobs at Volkswagen’s only U.S. assembly plant,” UAW’s Chattanooga workers have had it up to here.
“Volkswagen made $20.6 billion in profits in 2024, and generates a full 20% of its profits in North America. The company can afford to provide a union contract that honors the hardworking Auto Workers of Chattanooga,” its statement from Detroit headquarters retorts. It can also provide “respect on the job.”
Volkswagen can afford to ban outsourcing, closure, or outright sale of the plant, and to provide excellent health care coverage for the workers, UAW continued. It can offer “substantial pay raises.” Eversole claimed VW offered the workers a 20% raise over four years, plus a $4000 ratification bonus and a yearly cost-of-living increase. News reports note VW first offered a 25% raise, then backtracked.
It also wants the contract to ensure members can use their earned paid time off, are protected from punitive drug testing, and have adequate breaks to recover from the physical demands of the assembly line.
Cochran, one of the union’s lead bargainers in Chattanooga, told senators VW offered far less and not just in pay.
“We know it’s possible to enforce the law and force these companies to negotiate with their workforce. Why are we getting no support in Tennessee? Why does Volkswagen get to break the law to screw Tennessee autoworkers out of a fair wage and a fair job?” he asked.
“We’ve had to file federal labor charges against Volkswagen over and over again during these negotiations. Volkswagen unlawfully cut jobs during these negotiations without bargaining with the union. That’s against the law.
“Volkswagen has repeatedly gone back on their proposals and bargained in bad faith. That’s against the law. Volkswagen has intimidated workers for exercising their right to vote ‘yes’ on a strike authorization. That’s against the law.
“We can talk about changing the law all day and night. But if you don’t ENFORCE the law to begin with, what’s the point? Your average worker has to fight like hell to win their union, against constant illegal activity from employers,” Cochran said (his emphasis).
“If they overcome that to win their union, they have to fight like hell to win a contract and actually improve their lives. This process can take years. And every year is a slap in the face to the workers who make these companies run.”
Workers told the UAW they don’t want to strike. “But if it comes to it,” they will, Mitchell Parker said.
“All my brothers and sisters of UAW Local 42 deserve respect, to provide a better life for their families, and have job security for us and generations to come,” Parker added.
“I’m voting ‘yes’ to get Volkswagen to come back to the table. The majority of the people I know don’t want VW’s ‘final offer.’ They want to keep negotiating, and we are willing to do what it takes to make that happen,” added worker Taylor Fugate.
“We need affordable healthcare and a strong job security statement that leaves no gray area. We also deserve equal standards. Southern autoworkers shouldn’t be treated differently!” Yet that’s the very reason that the foreign “transplants” and even U.S. automakers have transferred autoworker jobs to the South, or to Mexico, for decades: Corporate greed.
“We are serious about receiving industry-standard treatment. Job security’s essential. They could pay us $100 an hour, but it means nothing if they close the plant two weeks into the agreement,” said James Robinson. “We will show them their offer wasn’t enough, show them we’re willing to stand up to get what we deserve.”
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