Catherwood LibraryILR School

Two years ago the UAW won it’s first victory of a foreign-owned automaker in the US when it organized skilled workers at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant in a 108 to 44 vote in favor of representation. After the election, Volkswagen went on the offensive and announced that it would fight any Labor Board decision to recognize a unit that did not include all hourly-wage production workers at the plant. The company refused to bargain with the unit, and the UAW promptly filed an unfair labor practice complaint, which Volkswagen appealed. A December ruling by Trump’s NLRB that reversed a prior ruling in the case Specialty Healthcare is helping Volkswagen’s case by increasing the size requirement for bargaining units. Following the reversal, the D.C. Circuit Court send Volkswagen’s appeal back to be decided by the Labor Board to be decided with consideration for the new standard. The UAW is expected to take a loss in the case, and the union vote will likely be overturned.