In late March the United Auto Workers petitioned the federal National Labor Relations Board to hold an election at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. This would be the third time the UAW has tried to organize that facility after having been rejected by employees on previous attempts. The UAW is hoping the third time is the charm.
According to the UAW, 70 percent of the employees at the plant have signed a card indicating support for the union. If so, that would suggest majority support in an upcoming secret ballot vote. But that’s not always how it works out. Sometimes workers will sign cards to avoid confrontation or to get a co-worker off their back, but then vote against the union in the election. That, of course, is why we have secret ballot elections—so that people are free to vote their conscience.
And while the UAW will make unionizing sound wonderful, there are some factors workers might want to consider.
First, unionization brings the possibility of strikes. These strikes not only cause disruption to the plant itself, but also cause significant harm to the local community. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 75,000 jobs were lost due to strikes in 2023. This included 13,000 workers at auto parts suppliers, who were laid off when the UAW went on strike against the Detroit Three auto makers last year. Small businesses and family restaurants also suffer from lost business as the community is disrupted by strikes. The Detroit Three themselves lost an estimated $6 billion during last year’s strike—money that won’t go into research and development or new jobs.
Like all unions, the UAW will no doubt promise increased wages if workers unionize. But this is unlikely to mean much for workers in Chattanooga, who already earn competitive wages. Moreover, the UAW locks in pay rates for four-year contracts, meaning that wages can’t be adjusted upwards for inflation or other changes in the economy without a new round of negotiations.
Another promise the UAW may make is that if workers unionize, they will get traditional defined benefit pension plans. In fact, the president of the UAW has said he will fight to get these plans for all workers. Don’t believe it. Even during the height of a costly strike, the Detroit Three were unwilling to meet the UAW’s demand to restore these plans.
What the UAW will try to keep quiet are the facts about the numerous financial and other scandals that have tarnished the union’s reputation, which are now under investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives. For Example, in 2022 a UAW official from Local 412 was sentences to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $2 million in restitution and $1 million in fines for embezzling union funds and laundering the proceeds. In 2019, multiple UAW officials were prosecuted for receiving illegal payments in the form of lavish meals, rounds of golf, extravagant parties and expensive gifts paid for with credit cards issued by the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center.
The National Labor Relations Act gives workers the ability to exercise free choice about joining a union, which is a critical decision. But to make that decision an informed one, it’s important that workers have all the facts, not just happy talk and wishful thinking from the UAW.
Glenn Spencer
Senior Vice President of the Employment Policy Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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Mr. Spencer, another factor the workers might want to consider is that the United Auto Workers Union donates significant sums of money to political candidates. The big wigs of UAW management decide who will get the support funds – not the workers. So perhaps before joining the union, the Volkswagen employees should check on which presidential and senatorial candidates and parties the union has been trying to curry favor with. It would be your money – are they funding candidates who have the same values and platform commitments as you would support if you chose the recipient?
Tom Wheatley