The UAW appears set to use the 2023 labor contracts with the Detroit 3 as a template for negotiations with Volkswagen over its Chattanooga plant, which is set to begin Sept. 19.
The union's top leadership held what it called a “bargaining kickoff” rally on Sept. 15 in Chattanooga. UAW President Sean Fein addressed the crowd and broadcast live, as did Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW-Ford division, and Tim Smith, director of UAW Region 8.
UAW leaders and members of the 20-member elected negotiating committee wore red polo shirts with the letters GOS on one sleeve, which union members said stood for “Get our s—.”
Browning, a seasoned negotiator who led the UAW's labor talks with John Deere in 2021 and Caterpillar and Case New Holland in 2023, will also lead the negotiations with VW along with the negotiating committee. Fine said choosing Browning to lead the talks was an easy decision.
In July, VW hired Christina Wilson, a General Motors veteran, to lead contract negotiations.
Workers at the company's Chattanooga plant voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW in April, 2,628 to 985. The union has suffered two failed attempts to organize a VW plant in the past decade.
The VW ID4 electric compact crossover, as well as the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport large crossovers, are built in Chattanooga. The plant opened in 2011.
“I was here for the first organizing campaign when I was a lot younger,” Browning said. “I've waited 15 f–king years to be on this podium. And it's great to be here.”
The bargaining unit is significant. According to the National Labor Relations Board, there were 4,326 eligible voters in April, including all full-time and part-time manufacturing and service workers.
Profit sharing, cost-of-living adjustments, pensions, affordable health care and the end of tiered pay appear to be the UAW's priorities in its dealings with VW. Smith said there are 800 demands on the table, without specifying them.
“You’ve seen a certain type of battle, and you’ve seen the kind of fight that Volkswagen can put up,” Browning said. “Make no mistake, this fight is coming. It’s going to take everything we’ve got. The whole point of getting a union is to get the union contract that you deserve.”
Browning noted that workers were very clear about what they wanted from the first contract, and then mentioned responsibility, respect and vacation.
“You want a record contract with higher wages and better benefits. You want profit sharing. You want COLA. You want pension coverage,” he said at the rally. “This is just the beginning.”
In a statement, Volkswagen said the company intends to listen to employee feedback “throughout this process so that we can reach an agreement that improves their experience.”
“We will work tirelessly and collaboratively to reach a fair agreement that honors the unique nature of our only U.S. plant, our employees and the Chattanooga community,” VW said in a statement. “This will ensure a strong and successful future for Volkswagen Chattanooga with the UAW.”
Fine pointed to wage increases passed at many assembly plants run by non-union Asian and European automakers in the U.S., including Chattanooga, after the UAW’s staggered 2023 strikes against the Detroit 3. The strikes ultimately led to an unprecedented pay and benefits package for thousands of workers at GM, Ford and Stellantis. Fine said that even with the increases at many of the plants, VW workers are lagging behind workers at other assembly plants in the South.
“An assembly worker at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee makes 15 percent less in hourly wages than an assembly worker at a nearby Ford Motor Company truck plant in Kentucky,” Fine said. “And that's before profit sharing.”
Fine also expressed disagreement with VW Group CEO Oliver Blume's salary for 2023 and the carmaker's dividend paid to shareholders in 2023.
“But here's what we do know: Volkswagen's most important market is right here in North America,” Fine said. “Their path forward runs right through Chattanooga, Tennessee.”
VW's U.S. sales rose 26 percent to 182,713 in the first half of 2024, according to Automotive News Research & Data Center. Vehicles made in Chattanooga accounted for 36 percent of the company's deliveries through June.
The talks between the UAW and the automaker come at a difficult time for VW Group.
Earlier in September, VW said it planned to end a 30-year employment deal with powerful German unions and was considering closing plants in its home country. VW Group luxury brand Audi also warned it could halt production at a plant in Brussels.
VW has not closed a plant since 1988, when it closed its Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, plant.
VW is also behind schedule on an $11 billion cost-cutting program at its namesake brand, while still needing to fund major international projects, including a potential $5 billion investment in Rivian and a partnership with China's Xpeng.
Reuters contributed to this report.