UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant

UAW organizers celebrate Tennessee unionization vote

This sets a new precedent for labor unions in the South

(Image credit: Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images)

What happened

A Volkswagen auto plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted to join the United Auto Workers union, giving the UAW its first modern toehold in the "right to work" South and its first successful unionization at a foreign-owned automaker in the region. The lopsided 2,628-985 vote followed narrow UAW losses at the factory in 2014 and 2019.

Who said what

Many "pundits have said to me, repeatedly," that the UAW "can't win in the South," UAW President Shawn Fain told the Chattanooga workers Friday. "You all moved a mountain."

The commentary

Unionizing in the South has long been "like cutting a five-acre field with nail clippers: time-consuming, grueling and largely ineffective," Abby Vesoulis said at Mother Jones. Six Southern Republican governors warned last week that unionizing will scare away automakers, but that's unlikely, consultant Fabian Brandt told The Wall Street Journal. "Union membership is the price German manufacturers will have to pay for building cars where they sell."

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What next?

After the election is certified, the UAW and VW will start negotiating pay, work hours and worker safety. The UAW's next big unionization vote is at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance, Alabama, in mid-May.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.