'Fight is coming': UAW, VW brace for start of bargaining

The UAW appears primed to leverage 2023 labor contracts with the Detroit 3 as a blueprint for bargaining with Volkswagen at its Chattanooga plant, with talks set to begin on Sept. 19.

The union's top brass held a bargaining kickoff rally Sept. 15 in Chattanooga. UAW President Shawn Fain addressed the crowd and a livestream, as did Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW-Ford department, and Tim Smith, director of UAW Region 8.

Union leaders, as well as members of the 20-person elected bargaining committee, wore red polos with the letters GOS on one sleeve, which members said stood for 'Get our s---.'

Browning, a veteran negotiator who led the UAW's labor talks with John Deere in 2021 and Caterpillar and Case New Holland in 2023, lead negotiations with VW, along with the bargaining committee. Fain said selecting Browning for the job was an easy decision.

VW hired Christena Wilson, a General Motors veteran, in July to take charge of contract talks.

Chattanooga workers voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW in April, with 2,628 votes in favor and 985 opposed. The union had suffered two failed attempts in the past decade to organize VW's plant.

VW's 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 in the first organizing drive when I was a much younger man," Browning said. "I've been waiting 15 damn years to be at this podium here. And it's good to be here."

The bargaining unit is sizable. There were 4,326 eligible voters in April including all full-time and regular part-time production and maintenance employees, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

Profit-sharing, cost-of-living adjustments, retirement security, affordable health care and the elimination of tiered wages appear to be the UAW's priorities with VW. Smith said there are 800 demands on the table, without specifying.

"You've seen a certain kind of battle, and you've seen the kind of fight Volkswagen can mount," Browning said. "Make no mistake, that fight is coming. It's going to take everything we've got. The whole thing about getting a union is to get that union contract that you deserve."

Browning said workers have been clear about what they want in a first contract. He mentioned accountability, respect and time off.

"You want a record contract with higher wages and better benefits. You want profit-sharing. You want COLA. You want retirement security," he said at the rally. "That's just the beginning."

Volkswagen, in a statement, said it is committed to listening to employee feedback "throughout this process so we can reach a deal that improves their experience."

"We will work tirelessly and collaboratively to reach a fair agreement that takes into account the unique nature of our single U.S. plant, our employees and the Chattanooga community," VW said in the statement. "This will ensure a strong and successful future for Volkswagen Chattanooga with the UAW."

Fain pointed to wage increases adopted at many assembly plants operated by nonunion Asian and European automakers in the U.S., including Chattanooga, following the UAW's staggered strikes in 2023 against the Detroit 3. The strikes ultimately produced an unprecedented wage and benefit package for thousands of GM, Ford and Stellantis workers. Even with the increases at many transplants, Fain said VW workers are behind those at other assembly plants in the South.

"An assembly worker in Volkswagen in Tennessee makes 15 percent less in hourly wages than an assembly worker at Ford Motor Company just up the road at Kentucky Truck plant," Fain said. "And that's before profit-sharing."

Fain also took issue with VW Group CEO Oliver Blume's 2023 salary and the automaker's dividends paid to shareholders that year.

"But here's what we know: Volkswagen's most important market is right here in North America," Fain 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 the Automotive News Research & Data Center. Chattanooga-built vehicles accounted for 36.3 percent of the company's sales through June.

The talks between the UAW and automaker come at a challenging time for VW Group.

Earlier in September, VW disclosed it was planning to scrap a 30-year-old job security agreement with Germany's powerful labor unions and weighing the closure of plants in its home country. The group's Audi luxury brand has also warned it may end output at a plant in Brussels.

VW has not closed a factory since 1988, when it shut down a plant in Westmoreland, Pa.

VW is also behind schedule on a $11 billion cost-cutting program at its namesake brand while needing to fund critical international projects, including a potential $5 billion investment in Rivian and a partnership with China's Xpeng.

Reuters contributed to this report.