Tag Archive for: organizing

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Volkswagen Workers File for Union Election to Join UAW

Chattanooga, TN – Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to join the UAW, after a supermajority of Volkswagen workers have signed union cards in just 100 days.

In a new video, Volkswagen workers speak out on why they’re voting yes to join the UAW.

“Today, we are one step closer to making a good job at Volkswagen into a great career,” said Isaac Meadows, a production team member in assembly. “Right now, we miss time with our families because so much of our paid-time-off is burned up during the summer and winter shutdowns. We shouldn’t have to choose between our family and our job. By winning our union and a real voice at Volkswagen, we can negotiate for more time with our families.”

“We are voting yes for our union because we want Volkswagen to be successful,” said Victor Vaughn, a logistics team member at VW. “Volkswagen has spent billions of dollars expanding in Chattanooga, but right now safety is a major issue in our plant. Just the other day, I was almost hit by four 500-plus pound crates while I was driving to deliver parts. That incident should’ve been followed up within the hour, but even after I clocked out no one asked me about it. VW has partnered with unionized workforces around the world to make their plants safe and successful. That’s why we’re voting for a voice at Volkswagen here in Chattanooga.”

“I come from a UAW family, so I’ve seen how having our union enables us to make life better on the job and off,” said Yolanda Peoples, a production team member in assembly. “We are a positive force in the plant. When we win our union, we’ll be able to bargain for a safer workplace, so people can stay on the job and the company can benefit from our experience. When my father retired as a UAW member, he had something to fall back on. VW workers deserve the same.”

The milestone marks the first non-union auto plant to file for a union election among the dozens of auto plants where workers have been organizing in recent months. The grassroots effort sprang up in the wake of the record victories for Big Three autoworkers in the UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike win.

The Chattanooga plant is Volkswagen’s only U.S. assembly plant and employs over 4,000 autoworkers. It is the only Volkswagen plant globally with no form of employee representation.

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“We Keep Toyota Running”: Workers at Critical Toyota Plant Launch Campaign to Join the UAW

TROY, Mo. – Workers at a critical Toyota plant in Troy, Missouri have launched their public campaign to join the UAW after more than 30% signed union authorization cards. It is the first Toyota plant and the fourth non-union plant nationwide where workers have gone public with their campaign to win their union.

In a new video, “We Keep Toyota Running,” workers at the plant — which makes the cylinder heads for every Toyota engine made in North America — describe the toll of the work on their bodies.

The video announcing the campaign can be accessed here, and the media is invited to use the footage. More information on the campaign is available at uaw.org/toyota-tmmmo.

Dawn Ellis, a worker featured in the video, tore her rotator cuff on the job, a common injury at the plant. She had surgery on a Friday and, in a common practice at the plant, was ordered to report to work the following Monday. In a separate injury, Ellis suffered a fractured skull and has struggled with migraine headaches ever since.

“The plant is not safe,” said Jaye Hochuli, a team leader at the plant. “They had me crawl under a deck to clean out the sand and silica dust and chemicals that come out of the machines. It was a confined space. I should’ve been in a respirator and a hazmat suit. All they gave me was a KN-95 mask. I came home and that dust was in my hair, on my clothes, in my underwear. How can the richest car company in the world not follow basic safety practices? We’re organizing to fix what’s wrong and win the protection we need.”

Wages at the plant are far below the rate that UAW members make in equivalent Big Three facilities. Even after Toyota increased pay in response to last year’s record UAW contracts – the “UAW Bump” — production workers in Troy make over $4 an hour less than their UAW counterparts.

“Seeing the new contracts with the Big Three, that’s when I realized we needed a union,” said Charles Lashley, a team member in support. “It was incredible that UAW members could bargain for those benefits and that pay. I don’t see why we should be paid differently. Toyota makes more money than all the Big Three. So, there’s no reason why we should be so far behind. The company can’t run without us. We should get paid like it. We can by organizing our union.”

“When I was hired two and a half years ago, I came in with 24 people. I’m the last one left,” said Jessica Clay a team member in die changes. “The overtime we worked was too much. Overtime now isn’t the problem it was, but there’s still no sick time. We still have to use PTO [paid time off] during shutdowns. I came from Ford; I came from UAW. The union was a better fit for your life. In our union, we have more control. We have a better life.”

“The company has a slogan they like to use: One Toyota,” said Jarred Wehde, a production team member. “We’ve got the Toyota sign out front, just like they do in Kentucky and Indiana. But our pay is nowhere near what theirs is. We know what the company makes. We know they can afford to pay us. By organizing our union, we can win our fair share.”

The announcement marks the latest major breakthrough in the national movement of non-union autoworkers organizing to join the UAW in the wake of the historic Stand Up Strike victory at the Big Three auto companies. Over 10,000 non-union autoworkers have signed union cards in recent months, with public campaigns launched at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mercedes in Vance, Alabama, and Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama, while workers at over two dozen other facilities continue to organize.

For more information, visit uaw.org/join.

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NYU Contract Faculty Win Their Union, Form Largest Union of Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track, Private University Professors in the Country

NEW YORK CITY – Full time, non-tenure track faculty at New York University have voted by an overwhelming margin (553 to 72, or 89.5%) in favor of joining Contract Faculty United – UAW (CFU-UAW), according to ballots tallied Wednesday night by the American Arbitration Association. CFU-UAW will represent nearly 1,000 Contract Faculty across NYU. 

“With participation from nearly 67% of the unit, this is a resounding vote for our union,” said Ahmed Ansari, Industry Assistant Professor in Technology, Culture and Society at Tandon School of Engineering. “Our work powers NYU’s educational mission—but too many of us face unpredictable salaries that routinely shortchange women and people of color. We look forward to negotiating a strong first contract that allows us to live in New York City, protects our job security and academic freedom, and makes NYU an equitable place to work. Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, and we are excited to bargain as equals with the university administration to make progress on these issues and more.”

“UAW workers in higher education are standing up and winning major improvements all across the United States, raising the standards for all academic workers,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. ”We applaud NYU contract faculty for taking this major step towards winning the pay, benefits and respect they deserve, and we’ve got their back.”

“We are excited to welcome NYU contract faculty into the growing UAW family,” said Brandon Mancilla, Director of UAW Region 9A, which includes New York City, New England and Puerto Rico.  “After a long fight and a historic election victory, contract faculty can now look forward to bargaining a strong first union contract.”

NYU Contract Faculty join more than 100,000 academic workers across the United States who are represented by the UAW. In the last five years alone over 40,000 academic workers around the country have chosen to become part of the UAW, including nearly 15,000 from the east coast area.

Learn more at NYUContractFacultyUnion.org

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“We Are The Majority”: Workers at Mercedes-Benz’s Largest US Plant Announce Majority Support for Movement to Join UAW

VANCE, AL — A majority of workers at Mercedes-Benz’s largest plant in the United States, MBUSI in Vance, Alabama, have signed union cards in support of joining the UAW.

In a video announcement, Mercedes worker Jeremy Kimbrell, surrounded by his Mercedes coworkers, announces that “a majority of our coworkers at Mercedes here in Alabama have signed our union cards and are ready to win our union and a better life with the UAW.”

The full text of the announcement, and the video, are available below and media are encouraged to use the materials.

Kimbrell details several of the driving forces behind the workers’ grassroots campaign to join the UAW, including workers going many years without meaningful raises, a two-tier wage system, and the abuse of temporary workers. Each of these issues also figured prominently in the UAW’s Stand Up Strike at the Big Three, which has spurred an unprecedented amount of organizing activity and interest among America’s non-union autoworkers.

“There comes a time when enough is enough,” says Kimbrell. “Now is that time. We know what the company, what the politicians, and what their multi-millionaire buddies will say. They’ll say now is not the right time. Or that this is not the right way. But here’s the thing. This is our decision. It’s our life. It’s our community. These are our families. It’s up to us.”

The announcement marks the second plant to reach the majority milestone this month, after Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga reached majority support in early February. Over ten thousand non-union autoworkers across 14 auto companies have signed union cards and begun organizing to join the UAW in the wake of the historic Stand Up Strike victories at the Big Three.

Full text of MBUSI workers’ announcement of majority support to join the UAW: 

“We’re here today to make a major announcement. 

A majority of our coworkers at Mercedes here in Alabama have signed our union cards and are ready to win our union and a better life with the UAW. 

We haven’t taken this step lightly. 

For years, we’ve fallen further behind while Mercedes has made billions. 

After 2008 and 2009, some of our coworkers were forced to leave the company.  

Consecutive CEOs said they’d be brought back once things improved.  

Things did improve, but they were never allowed to return and were replaced within six months by temporary workers at half the pay. 

These same temporary workers then worked for up to eight years before receiving full time jobs.  

Also during this time, our management gave us a 42 cent raise over a six year period while making record profits.  

And these same record profits weren’t enough to prevent Mercedes from imposing an unfair two-tier pay scale just as our children were entering the workforce.  

We’ve learned that we can’t trust Mercedes with our best interests.  

There comes a time when enough is enough.  

Now is that time.  

We know what the company, what the politicians, and what their multi-millionaire buddies will say.  

They’ll say now is not the right time.  

that this is not the right way.  

But here’s the thing.  

This is our decision.  

It’s our life.  

It’s our community.  

These are our families.  

It’s up to us.  

It’s not up to Mercedes management or any politician or anyone else.  

We’re exercising our right to fight for a better life.  

And we won’t stop until we’ve made things right for the workers who build the cars and make the company run.  

We organized our plant by ourselves.  

We are our union.  

So we’re here to tell you that we are the majority.  

That Mercedes workers are ready to stand up.  

And we’re asking all of you watching this, whether you’re an autoworker at Mercedes or just someone who believes in a better life for working class people in Alabama and beyond: stand with us.  

Support our cause, and join our movement.  

Thank you. 

Stand Up! 

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UAW Announces $40 Million Commitment to Organizing Auto and Battery Workers Over Next Two Years

DETROIT – The United Auto Workers is committing $40 million through 2026 in new organizing funds to support non-union autoworkers and battery workers who are organizing across the country, and particularly in the South. 

The UAW International Executive Board voted Tuesday to commit the funds in response to an explosion in organizing activity among non-union auto and battery workers, in order to meet the moment and grow the labor movement. 

In the next few years, the electric vehicle battery industry is slated to add tens of thousands of jobs across the country, and new standards are being set as the industry comes online. These jobs will supplement, and in some cases largely replace, existing powertrain jobs in the auto industry. Through a massive new organizing effort, workers will fight to maintain and raise the standard in the emerging battery industry. 

The major announcement comes on the heels of growing organizing momentum across the non-union auto sector, with workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga announcing majority support for the union, and workers at Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama and at Mercedes in Vance, Alabama following closely on their heels. 

More than ten thousand autoworkers have already signed their union cards to join the UAW and fight for a better life at 14 non-union automakers from California to South Carolina. To learn more about that campaign, visit UAW.org/join. 

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“We’re Taking the Lead”: Over Half of Volkswagen Workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee Sign Cards to Join the UAW in Less than 60 Days

Chattanooga, Tenn. – A majority of workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant have signed cards to join the UAW, less than sixty days after the workers announced their campaign to form a union at the German automaker’s only US assembly plant.

The milestone marks the first non-union auto plant to publicly announce majority support among the dozens of auto plants where workers have begun organizing in recent months. The grassroots effort sprang up in the wake of the record victories for Big Three autoworkers in the UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike win.

“The excitement has been building, and now that we have reached 50%, it is just continuing to grow. New organizers are joining each day spreading our effort to every area of the plant,” said Zach Costello, a Volkswagen worker and trainer in the plant’s Proficiency Room. “Just because we are in the South, it does not mean that our work is worth less, that our benefits should be diminished, or that we don’t have rights. All workers should have a voice, and I hope the success that we’re having here is showing workers across the country what is possible.”

“We realized that the working conditions could be a lot better,” said Victor Vaughn, a logistics team member at Volkswagen. “And the employees, we don’t have a say in any of the decisions that are going on within the plant. We’re not being recognized as a major resource for the company. We have a very important job, to put a vehicle on the road that our families are buying, that our kids are riding in. We take pride in what we do, but we don’t have a voice in how we operate. That’s why we’re taking the lead.”

The Chattanooga plant employs over 4,000 autoworkers, a clear majority of whom have signed cards to join the UAW. Workers at Mercedes in Vance, Alabama, and at Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama have also announced public campaigns to join the UAW, with dozens of other plants actively organizing. For more information on the campaigns, visit UAW.org/join.

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“Montgomery Can’t Wait”: Hyundai Autoworkers in Montgomery, Alabama Announce Public Campaign to Join the UAW in Latest Organizing Milestone

Montgomery, Ala. — Workers at Hyundai’s sole US plant, in Montgomery, Alabama, have announced a major milestone in their campaign to join the UAW, with over 30 percent of autoworkers at the plant having signed union cards.

In a new video, “Montgomery Can’t Wait,” Hyundai workers speak out on the ties between the union movement at the Korean automaker and the civil rights legacy of “Montgomery, the city where Rosa Parks sat down, and where thousands of Hyundai workers are ready to Stand Up.”

The video announcing the campaign can be accessed at uaw.org/hyundai and the media is invited to use the footage.

“I’m getting close to retirement and the company has literally broken me down,” said Drena Smith, a team member who has spent most of her 19 years at Hyundai in the paint shop and has had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders and carpal tunnel surgery in one hand. “We need compensation for that when we retire. Not just a cake and a car discount for a car we can’t afford to buy because we won’t have any income. We need a real retirement; we need to win our union.”

“My oldest son works at the plant, over on General Assembly (GA),” said Dewayne Naylor, who currently does Body Shop Quality Control. “I went through 14 years in GA, and I know what it’ll do to your body over there. I don’t want the younger generation to go through what we did. Over the last ten years, most of my raises have been just 12 or 13 cents an hour. The price of their cars, they go up every year. But my pay don’t. If we don’t get the union here, our pay will never keep up.”

“I was a temp at Hyundai from 2014 to 2017. I made $11.03 an hour the entire time,” said Ronald Terry, a team member on Final 3 and 5 in General Assembly. “They kept saying, just wait a little longer, you’ll make it to full time. I finally did, but the pay is still mediocre. With the union, we can bring our pay and benefits up to a higher standard. That’s how you motivate your workers. It’s not just good for us, it’s good for the product we produce.”

“When you’re injured, management pushes you back on the line too soon,” said Peggy Howard, who works on F1 Final in General Assembly. “I had surgery on my rotator cuff in September and I had to go back to work the last of December. I didn’t get the two weeks ramp up and now I’m having pains over again. I had a cortisone injection three weeks ago and I’m about to go back for another injection. If that doesn’t work, the doctor told me he’ll have to do the surgery over again. We need to make our jobs safer; we need the union.”

“Here’s when I knew we needed the union,” said Quichelle Liggins, a Quality Inspector at Hyundai. “My youngest son had a basketball game, and I scheduled a half day of vacation time. Someone was supposed to come to the line to relieve me, but no one came. Finally, I clocked out and I missed the first quarter of his game. They still wanted to write me up for job abandonment. I had to go in front of team relations, and I explained what happened, that I was legit in having this personal day. And my group leader stopped me and said this job is more important than your family. At that moment, I just froze. That was sickening. I knew things at Hyundai had gone too far.”

The announcement marks the third major breakthrough in the national movement of non-union autoworkers organizing to join the UAW in the wake of the historic Stand Up Strike victory at the Big Three auto companies. Over 10,000 non-union autoworkers have signed union cards in recent months, with public campaigns launched at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Mercedes in Vance, Alabama, while workers at over two dozen other facilities continue to organize.

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Over 10,000 Autoworkers Sign Union Cards Across 13 Non-Union Automakers in Major Milestone for Historic Organizing Drive

Over 10,000 autoworkers across 13 non-union companies have signed union cards with the UAW, as momentum builds across the auto industry for better wages, benefits, and rights on the job. The major milestone comes less than 90 days after UAW members ratified record contracts at the Big Three. 

“Our Stand Up movement has caught fire among America’s autoworkers, far beyond the Big Three,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “These workers are standing up for themselves, for their families, and for their communities, and our union will have their back every step of the way.” 

In the wake of the UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike victory at the Big Three automakers (Ford, GM, Stellantis), thousands of non-union autoworkers began organizing their own unions with the UAW across the entire non-union auto industry.  

In just two months, workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., and at Mercedes in Vance, Ala., have gone public with their campaigns, nearing a majority of workers signed up at both plants. Workers at more than two dozen other facilities have begun organizing in the thousands, inspired by the Big Three victory and the non-union autoworkers’ public announcements. 

For more information on the non-union autoworkers’ organizing efforts at Volkswagen, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, Volvo, Tesla, Nissan, BMW, Subaru, Mazda, Rivian, Lucid, and Hyundai, visit UAW.org/join. 

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Mercedes-Benz Workers in Alabama Launch Public Campaign to Join the UAW as Organizing Momentum Builds in Nonunion Auto Plants Across the U.S.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant outside Tuscaloosa, Ala., went public today with their campaign to join the UAW. Over 30% of the plant’s workforce have signed union authorization cards, a major milestone on their path to form a union with the UAW.

A video announcing the campaign can be accessed at uaw.org/mercedes-al and the media is invited to use the footage.

The launch at Mercedes in Alabama comes just one month after Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., reached the 30% threshold and went public with their drive to join the UAW. It comes just six weeks after non-union autoworkers across the nation started organizing to join the UAW. For more information on that campaign, visit uaw.org/join.

“In the past, people didn’t know if we had a pathway forward here,” said Jeremy Kimbrell, a measurement machine operator who has worked at Mercedes since 1999. “Now everybody’s coming together and seeing what the pathway is, and it’s through the union. When we get our union in here, I think people will once again look at Mercedes and say, it’s not just another job, it’s a career job. It’s a job where generations will want to come and work. And that’ll spread out to the suppliers and then to the broader area.”

Mercedes made $156 billion in total profits over the last decade. In the last three years their profits grew 200% over the previous three years. From 2020 to 2023, the average price of Mercedes vehicles in the United States jumped 31% even as pay for Mercedes’ U.S. workers stagnated. Workers at the Tuscaloosa plant build the Mercedes GLE, GLE coupé and GLS model series as well as the all-electric EQS SUV and EQE.

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U.S. Senators Call on Non-Union Auto Companies to Stop Union-Busting 

Today, 33 U.S. Senators are calling on 13 non-union auto companies to refrain from union-busting as over 150,000 autoworkers have launched campaigns to organize with the UAW. In a letter sent to the CEOs of the automakers, the Senators, led by Senators Peters, Stabenow, Padilla, Butler, and Brown stressed the importance of respecting workers’ right to form a union, and encouraged the companies to commit to neutrality in any organizing effort.

“Your commitment to neutrality would ensure that management does not pressure workers into voting against unionization or delaying the election process,” the Senators’ letter states. “We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers’ rights, especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition.”

The letter also addresses reports of illegal actions taken by a number of the companies. In recent weeks, the UAW has filed unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board against Honda, Hyundai, and Volkswagen for engaging in various illegal union-busting tactics in an attempt to intimidate and dissuade workers from voting to unionize.

“These retaliatory actions are hostile to workers’ rights and must not be repeated if further organizing efforts are made by these companies’ workers,” the letter continues. “We therefore urge you all to commit to implementation of a neutrality agreement at your manufacturing plants.”

“Every autoworker in this country deserves their fair share of the auto industry’s record profits, whether at the Big Three or the Non-Union Thirteen,” UAW President Shawn Fain said. “We applaud these U.S. Senators for standing with workers who are standing up for economic justice on the job. It’s time for the auto companies to stop breaking the law and take their boot off the neck of the American autoworker, whether they’re at Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, or any other corporation doing business in this country.”

The campaign comes on the heels of the UAW winning record contracts at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis in October 2023, after the six-week Stand Up Strike that captivated the labor movement and led non-union automakers to raise wages in anticipation of fending off potential organizing at their facilities.

More information on the organizing drive can be found at UAW.org/join.

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