The United Auto Workers announced Thursday it would open a local office at Chattanooga's Volkswagen factory, in hopes of creating a worker council similar to those in Germany. The announcement comes just five months after VW workers at the plant voted down a plan to unionize. While membership would be strictly voluntary, the UAW hopes the local will give factory workers a voice and ultimately lead to another organizing effort at the plant and recognition by the company.
See "UAW Seeks Works Council at VW Factory That Rejected Union", Jim Snyder, Bloomberg News, July 10, 2014