VW Chattanooga plant, where ID.4 is made, votes to unionize in historic move

electrek ^ | Apr 19 2024 - 7:07 pm PT | Jameson Dow

[MeganC]

VW should close the plant.

[Red Badger]

That plant makes the VW ID.4 ELECTRIC car..................

[MeganC]

“That plant makes the VW ID.4 ELECTRIC car..................”

Which means no one will miss this plant if it closes. Least of all VW.

[Red Badger]

That might explain why VW didn’t put up much of a fight............

[PAR35]

Companies tend to get the unions they deserve.

[doorgunner69]

Not going to buy one before, definitely not now.

No UAW, no how.

[Alter Kaker]

VW should close the plant.

Not likely. VW supportd the union organizing drive.

[Red6]

Biden.

Under this administration, many of the rules regarding unions have changed. Some of the changes make it far easier to unionize.

Unions know this too. They are pushing hard right now. It’s their golden window of opportunity.

[Red6]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/biden-administration-union-strikes-nlrb-win.html

Do you like to fight battles you know you will lose?

Choose your battle.

In the US, right now, you have an administration which is extremely favorable to unions and the rules are such that trying to block or fight them is difficult.

[MeganC]

“VW supportd the union organizing drive.”

VW was just trying to contain the damage.

They have no qualms about closing US plants and have done so before.

[packagingguy]

I have driven several German cars of various makes. The AM radio never works, and that goes back to an aircooled Beetle I learned on in the 1980s.

If Germans can’t get the AM radio part down how on earth will they ever make a reliable electric vehicle?

There’s a reason VW is dead last in reliability and union or no union this is not likely to change.

(I bought my present GTI for $14,000. Two years earlier it sold for $38,000 new. I thought I was getting a deal.)

[dfwgator]

Say “Auf Wiedersehen” to that plant.

[shoff]

So after they get their 10% raise they will be surprised by the 11% union dues.

[Alberta's Child]

VW has had a strange history in the U.S. They manufactured small cars at a former Chrysler plant in western Pennsylvania for 10-15 years up until they closed the plant in the late 1980s. The UAW was a big reason for the closure, but they also had to deal with internal management strife between the U.S. and German leadership.

As I recall reading some time ago, the company's German plants were subject to union disruption at the time over labor strife at the U.S. plant.

I predict this Chattanooga plant will close in the not-too-distant future. The UAW vote will have nothing to do with it; it just seems like a useless plant that has one of the smallest production/sales totals of any major auto manufacturer in the U.S.

[Vaduz]

And plant closing in 6 months.

[technically right]

Enjoy it while you can UAW folks. The general car buying public can barely afford the ICE powered crap you make now, not to mention the even less affordable and unfit for purpose EV’s. The automakers are pretty well down the road of an industry doom loop. I give it maybe 5 years before one or more of the majors goes under. Depending on which political party is in power they may get bailed out or maybe not. Either way a lot of UAW workers are going to be out of a job but by God, we showed those greedy CEO’s and shareholders who was boss. For a little while anyway.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

Expect the quality of TN built VWs to plummet while the cost skyrockets.

[Alberta's Child]

One of the interesting dynamics here is that Tennessee is still a “right to work” state — which presumably means that neither the UAW nor VW can compel any of the Chattanooga workers to join the union.

I bring this up because I still remember the media fanfare a couple of years ago when a Starbucks store had the company’s first successful union drive. Within 18 months rhe employees were trying to decertify their union — because they were getting paid LESS than their counterparts at non-union locations.

[2nd Amendment]

I wonder what they will do with the vast manufacturing facilities after they shut down. Went all in for electric cars and pride month. Maybe a flea market or outlet mall. Voted 3 to 1 for union thugs.