Day two of the 39th UAW Constitutional Convention was marked by spirited discussion on several important issues as elected delegates began shaping the union’s path forward for the next four years.
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In this issue:
In a historic victory, Volkswagen workers have voted by 96 percent to ratify their first union contract. The deal locks in 20 percent wage increases, healthcare cost reductions, job security guarantees, an enforceable grievance procedure, and much more. The ratification vote caps a years-long campaign by Volkswagen Chattanooga autoworkers to join the UAW and win a better life with a union contract.
Members of the press are invited to use b-roll and photos from ratification.
“Volkswagen workers have moved yet another mountain,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “From having the courage to stand up and form their union, to having the backbone to authorize a strike and hold out for a contract that honors their worth, VW workers are leading the way for the entire labor movement and non-union autoworkers everywhere. Welcome to the UAW family.”
The over 3,000 Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW in April of 2024. In October of 2025, after more than a year of negotiations, workers voted to authorize a strike in order to win a fair contract. In early February, they reached a tentative agreement with the company, which has now been ratified.
“This victory shows what happens when workers stand up and refuse to be ignored. We didn’t just win better wages and raise standards at our plant — we forced respect onto the table and got it all in writing,” said Yogi Peoples, a Bargaining Committee member from Assembly. “Our victory here at Volkswagen should send a message to autoworkers everywhere: don’t let management divide you. When workers fight together – united and unafraid — we can beat the odds and win!”
“Southern autoworkers are standing up, and I expect many more to follow Volkswagen’s lead,” said UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith. “Workers are done being left behind, and VW is just the first step towards justice for autoworkers everywhere. Who are we? U-A-W!”
Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga voted 3-to-1 to join the UAW in 2024, with support from the Volkswagen Works Council and IG Metall. Soon after the victory, workers elected a 20-member negotiating committee made up of their peers. After months of negotiations, the contract marks a breakthrough for nonunion autoworkers and manufacturing workers across the South. The agreement ensures that Volkswagen workers have a legally binding, enforceable contract guaranteeing fair pay, more affordable healthcare, safer working conditions, and clear protections against favoritism.
The details of the agreement are available at UAW.org/VW.
Autoworkers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant have won a historic tentative agreement with the company. After making history as the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to join the UAW, the 3,200 workers at Volkswagen Chattanooga have won a tentative contract deal that provides 20 percent across-the-board wage increases, affordable health care, real job security, and more.
After workers voted 3-to-1 to join the UAW in 2024, they elected a 20-member negotiating committee of their peers. After months of negotiations, the tentative deal marks a breakthrough for non-union autoworkers and manufacturing workers across the South. The tentative deal ensures that Volkswagen workers have a legally binding and enforceable agreement that guarantees fair pay, more affordable health care, safer working conditions, and clear protections against favoritism.
“For years, Chattanooga workers were told to settle for less while Volkswagen made record profits. So, the workers stood together and won their union—and now they’ve secured a life-changing first agreement,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “This deal proves what happens when autoworkers stand up and demand their fair share. People said Southern autoworkers could never form a union or win a union contract. Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga said, ‘Watch this.’”
For workers like bargaining committee co-chair Steve Cochran, a skilled trades worker and co-chair of the Bargaining Committee, the agreement represents a turning point. “A strong contract makes sure promises are delivered. Respect and security shouldn’t be up for negotiation—and now they won’t be.”
The tentative agreement is especially significant given Volkswagen’s recent record-breaking profits. In 2024 alone, the world’s second-largest automaker reported $20.6 billion in profits—even as Chattanooga workers struggled under substandard health coverage and rising out-of-pocket costs.
Key Wins in the Tentative Agreement
This historic agreement reflects significant improvements over the company’s last proposal in October, including:
Workers will receive details of the tentative agreement in the coming days, followed by a ratification vote.
“This contract is proof that if you stand up and stick together, you can win a better life,” said Kelcey Smith, a worker in the paint department. “No matter where you live, or where you work, autoworkers deserve a union contract, whether at the Big Three or Volkswagen, from Detroit to Chattanooga. Volkswagen workers are showing the whole country what’s possible.”
The Chattanooga victory signals a profound shift in the Southern auto industry, as workers across the region stand up to global corporations, demand their fair share, and build a future where autoworkers—no matter where they live or what company they work for—have a collective voice and a seat at the table.
Chattanooga, TN – Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga have voted to authorize a strike against the German automaker after over a year of contract negotiations have failed to produce a fair contract offer. It is a historic first, as the first strike authorization vote at a non-Big Three automaker in the modern era.
The move comes after months of unfair labor practices committed by the company, including bad faith negotiations, unlawful intimidation, and the unilateral cutting of jobs at Volkswagen’s only U.S. assembly plant.
Volkswagen made $20.6 billion in profits in 2024, and generates a full 20 percent of its profits in North America. The company can afford to provide a union contract that honors the hardworking autoworkers of Chattanooga.
Volkswagen’s most recent proposal does not include the job security language needed to protect workers from plant closures, outsourcing, or the sale of the Chattanooga facility. These protections cost the company nothing—but mean everything to workers and their families.
A strike authorization gives the elected UAW bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if need be. No strike date has been set, and the UAW bargaining committee has continued to request further negotiations with Volkswagen management, who has refused to meet.
“I don’t want to strike, but if it comes to it, I will,” said Volkswagen worker Mitchell Harris. “Because I feel that all my brothers and sisters of UAW Local 42 deserve respect, to provide a better life for their families, and have job security for us and generations to come.”
“I’m voting yes to get Volkswagen to come back to the table. The majority of the people I know don’t want VW’s ‘final offer.’ They want to keep negotiating, and we are willing to do what it takes to make that happen,” said Taylor Fugate. “We need affordable healthcare and a strong job security statement that leaves no gray area. We also deserve equal standards – Southern autoworkers shouldn’t be treated differently!”
“I’m voting yes because this is the time to show Volkswagen we are serious about receiving industry-standard treatment. Job security’s essential. They could pay us $100 an hour, but it means nothing if they close the plant two weeks into the agreement,” said James Robinson. “I’m hoping this process shows the company we are serious about getting a fair contract. We will show them their offer wasn’t enough, show them we’re willing to stand up to get what we deserve.”
Chattanooga, TN – After more than 13 months of negotiations, Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee have announced a strike authorization vote to take place on Tuesday, October 28 and Wednesday, October 29.
The move comes after months of unfair labor practices committed by the company, including bad faith negotiations, unlawful intimidation, and the unilateral cutting of jobs at Volkswagen’s only US assembly plant.
Volkswagen made $20.6 billion in profits in 2024, and generates a full 20 percent of its profits in North America. The company can afford to provide a union contract that honors the hardworking autoworkers of Chattanooga.
“I don’t want to strike, but if it comes to it, I will,” said Volkswagen worker Mitchell Harris. “Because I feel that all my brothers and sisters of UAW Local 42 deserve respect, to provide a better life for their families, and have job security for us and generations to come.”
“I’m voting yes to get Volkswagen to come back to the table. The majority of the people I know don’t want VW’s ‘final offer.’ They want to keep negotiating, and we are willing to do what it takes to make that happen,” said Taylor Fugate. “We need affordable healthcare and a strong job security statement that leaves no gray area. We also deserve equal standards – Southern autoworkers shouldn’t be treated differently!”
“I’m voting yes because this is the time to show Volkswagen we are serious about receiving industry-standard treatment. Job security’s essential. They could pay us $100 an hour, but it means nothing if they close the plant two weeks into the agreement,” said James Robinson. “I’m hoping this process shows the company we are serious about getting a fair contract. We will show them their offer wasn’t enough, show them we’re willing to stand up to get what we deserve.”
The UAW has been clear that the company’s offer still falls short in four key areas:
1) Job Security: Volkswagen’s proposal does not include the language needed to protect workers from plant closures, outsourcing, or the sale of the Chattanooga facility. These protections cost the company nothing—but mean everything to workers and their families.
2) Affordable Healthcare: Volkswagen’s proposal falls far short of the affordable, high-quality healthcare that’s standard for 150,000 UAW autoworkers across the country. Workers deserve equal treatment, not higher costs.
3) Wages That Keep Up With the Cost of Living: Volkswagen can solve this today by simply signing off on the proposal they already offered — so workers’ paychecks don’t lose value as costs rise.
4) Respect and Dignity on the Job: Volkswagen workers are fighting for a union contract that ensures members can use their earned PTO, are protected from punitive drug testing, and have adequate breaks to recover from the physical demands of the job.
The UAW sent a counterproposal to the company on October 15 addressing 14 remaining critical items centered on these four pillars: job security, fair wages, affordable healthcare, and respect and dignity on the job.
If Volkswagen accepts the counteroffer, the union will recommend ratification. If not, members will prepare for a strike authorization vote and further action as needed.
A strike authorization gives the elected UAW bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if need be. No strike date has been set, and the UAW bargaining committee has continued to request further negotiations with Volkswagen management, who has refused to meet.
In a massive rebuke of the German auto giant, the National Labor Relations Board has found Volkswagen to have egregiously violated the law in intimidating, disciplining, and threatening workers at its Parts Distribution Center in Cranbury, New Jersey earlier this year.
After workers organized to join the UAW, the company illegally threatened and coerced workers for exercising their federally-protected right to organize a union.
The automaker, which prides itself on its “social charter” that supposedly enshrines workers’ rights in its corporate governance, is ordered to recognize the UAW as the union of the over 150 workers involved. In addition, the Board will seek a 10(j) injunction to bring the company to the bargaining table.
“These workers did exactly what you’re supposed to do if you want a better life on the job, and Volkswagen treated them like dirt,” says UAW President Shawn Fain. “Because these badass workers refused to give up, they were able to overcome the company’s harassment, intimidation, and illegal conduct, and will now have a seat at the table. Welcome to the UAW. And Volkswagen, we’ll see you at the bargaining table.”
“We stood up because we know we deserve better from this multibillion-dollar company,” said Sergio Sumano, Jr., a warehouse worker with 7 years at the facility. “We stuck it out because we knew our cause was right. This is about a better life for me and my family, and for all of us here who make Volkswagen run. We are the UAW.”
Detroit, MI — Today, the UAW released a new deep-dive report, Unlocking the Potential of U.S. Auto Manufacturing Capacity, revealing that America’s auto industry has the infrastructure and skilled workforce to build millions more vehicles — and create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs — if companies invest at home instead of offshoring production and funneling more money to Wall Street.
In 2024, the United States had the capacity to manufacture over 14.7 million vehicles at active, existing plants, but produced only 10.2 million, leaving 4.5 million units of unused capacity. Plants across the country are underutilized because of high-exploitation race to the bottom practices that kill U.S. jobs and suppress wages for workers overseas, with the difference going straight to Wall Street.
Instead of using existing capacity, the Big Three and the rest of the auto industry loot the Rust Belt for stock buybacks and special dividends. Revitalizing the auto industry’s dormant capacity could create up to 90,000 new U.S. auto manufacturing jobs in short order, according to UAW estimates.
“We don’t need to break ground on a single new plant to rapidly grow auto manufacturing capacity — it’s already right in front of us, in the plants we’ve built, the skills of our members, and the communities that depend on these jobs,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Instead of offshoring jobs to low-wage, high-exploitation countries, auto companies must invest here at home and rebuild the middle class with union labor.”
The analysis shows that major automakers — GM, Ford, Stellantis, and Volkswagen — have steadily cut U.S. production even as they expanded output in Mexico. Since 2015, these companies have reduced annual U.S. vehicle production by 1.8 million units, hitting communities nationwide with plant closures, layoffs, and underutilized facilities.
“The working class built the auto industry — and we’re ready to build its future,” Fain continued. “Auto companies should be using this moment to scale up and add good jobs by investing in workers instead of Wall Street.”
View the full report here: https://uaw.us/ExcessCapacityPaper
Every working-class person deserves decent health care. No one should have to choose between seeing a doctor and putting food on the table. But that’s exactly what our current health care system does. It robs workers of dignity, drains union power at the bargaining table, and leaves too many of us behind. That’s why the UAW supports the Medicare for All Act—because no one should have to rely on the generosity of their boss to see a doctor or get the care they need.
Autoworkers know this all too well. During the Great Recession, Big Three automakers slashed retiree health care for new hires as part of bailout-era concessions. Now, a new generation of autoworkers are retiring years before they qualify for Medicare—but without employer-provided health care. As a result, they’re left in limbo, scraping by or skipping care entirely, too old to work but too young to die. Meanwhile, the companies are raking in record profits, lining shareholders’ pockets, and abandoning the very workers who make this industry run.
We need a system where everyone, union or not, has access to high-quality, comprehensive health care. Right now, unions like the UAW are forced to spend massive bargaining power just to defend what should be a basic human right. Companies try to force us to leave wage gains, retirement security, and work-life balance on the table just for our members to be able to have health insurance. Imagine what we could win if we didn’t have to fight tooth and nail just to see a doctor.
Take Volkswagen. The company made $92.4 billion in operating profit over the last four years and hauled in $351 billion in revenue in 2024 alone. Yet in Chattanooga, where workers are bargaining for their first contract, 73% say they’ve had to choose between health care and essentials like rent or food—or gone into debt or bankruptcy to afford medical bills. This is corporate greed at its ugliest: executives cashing checks while the working class gets left behind. And it’s happening across the industries the UAW represents.
We commend Senator Sanders, Representative Jayapal, and Representative Dingell for their leadership on this legislation and applaud vocal champions like Representative Ocasio-Cortez who are pushing to make Medicare for All the law of the land. Because until we take profit out of our health care system, workers will continue to pay the price—with their paychecks, their health, and their lives.
