Volkswagen managers have confirmed in a letter to employees that the automaker is in talks with the United Auto Workers about establishing a German-style “works council” at its Tennessee assembly plant.
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, said the talks with the UAW centre on “the possibility of implementing an innovative model of employee representation for all employees.”
The letter is signed by the plant’s chairman and chief executive, Frank Fischer, and by Sebastian Patta, the facility’s vice president for human resources. A VW spokesman declined to comment.
Southern Republicans have expressed concern about the UAW gaining a new foothold among foreign automakers in the region. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and US Sen. Bob Corker, both Republicans, have argued that inroads by the union would hurt the state’s ability to lure other large manufacturers to the state. There is also a concern that if the UAW is successful at Volkswagen, unionisation efforts could gain steam among other German automakers like Mercedes in Alabama and BMW in South Carolina.
But VW has faced pressure from labour representatives on its supervisory board, who have called it unfair for the company to deal with organised labour at every one of its major facilities around the world except at its lone US plant, in Chattanooga. A decision on whether to build another model in Tennessee could also hinge on the creation of a works council.
“The Volkswagen Group respects the employees’ right for an employee representation on plant level at all locations worldwide,” the letter from the plant managers said. “This certainly also applies to the Chattanooga plant.”