UAW Initiates Contract Talks for VW Chattanooga Workers After Union Win

CHATTANOOGA— Volkswagen workers at the Chattanooga plant have unveiled their priority demands through a new video released by the United Auto Workers (UAW) as contract negotiations commence between the employees and the German automaker.

Access the video here. Media outlets are encouraged to utilize this footage.

Following a significant win earlier this year, where 4,300 Volkswagen employees voted nearly 3-to-1 to become part of the UAW, the focus has shifted to negotiating a robust first contract. Since September 19, the 20-member elected bargaining committee has been in discussions with Volkswagen to achieve an agreement that enhances standards, including wages, benefits, and protections comparable to those secured by unionized autoworkers elsewhere.

"I got the carpal tunnel scar right there," Josh Epperson shares, emphasizing the critical need for health and safety measures in their forthcoming contract. "We have jobs in there that we know are going to hurt people. So why haven’t we done anything about that?"

The successful vote to join the UAW marked a pivotal moment in labor relations, with Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga becoming the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to unionize. Building on this momentum, they are striving for a contract that brings substantial improvements to their working conditions.

Inspired by the fruitful negotiations of the Big Three and Daimler Truck, Volkswagen employees are demonstrating the potential of collective action in demanding workplace fairness.

"I have tears in both my rotator cuffs, and I have to have surgery," notes Yolanda Peoples, a UAW bargaining committee member. "If we’re gonna win the contract that we deserve, it’s not just the bargainers. We need everyone involved."

Representing every department and shift, the bargaining committee has been analyzing survey data reflecting members’ aspirations and goals for the agreement. Supported by Chuck Browning, UAW Vice President and seasoned negotiator, the team has been reviewing industry and company data as well as contract language from agreements with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

Worker Testimonials

Full transcript featuring workers from the Volkswagen Chattanooga bargaining team:

I realized the first day, when they told me how much we were making, we need a union. I said if you need a Norma Rae, I’m your girl.

GM and Stellantis. Workers got incredible gains, but their companies aren’t nearly as big as Volkswagen.

It’s up to everybody in that plant to come together and make sure we get what we deserve.

Safety is probably the biggest thing. I mean, I don’t want to worry about losing a limb or breaking a bone.

The company denies injuries until they can’t anymore. I needed carpal tunnel surgery for six years, and they said that it wasn’t work-related because it was my non-dominant hand. They told us to use our non-dominant hand.

I’m currently sitting here, right. And I have tears in both my rotator cuffs, and I have to have surgery.

I got the carpal tunnel scar right there. We have jobs in there that we know are going to hurt people. So why haven’t we done anything about that?

The PTO is a big deal.

I went to medical. ‘Oh, you got Covid, you got to go home.’ They turned my badge off. I was gone for about five days. And I realized when I came back, I had all these points. I’m like, why do I got all these points? I didn’t send myself home. Medical sent me home.

I take my PTO when I want it. Not when you want me to take it.

For me, a big deal is retirement. Job security is a big deal. I’m 52.

I have three kids. Is their care covered? Am I at the right doctor? How is that going to impact me financially? I should never have to worry about that. I worked for the world’s largest auto manufacturer.

And when you’re talking about one company making more money than members of the Big Three do, and you see what they provide their employees … come on.

With a contract, it changes the power dynamic completely. They’re in the business to make money. They’re not in the people business. That’s what the unions for.

The bargaining team is only one part of this. We need the support of everybody in that plant. We all stood up together to win the union. Let’s all stand up together now to win a contract.

If we’re gonna win the contract that we deserve it’s not just the bargainers. We need everyone involved.

It involves 4,311 people that are in that plant every day.

Sign your name to the members’ demands. Talk to your coworkers.

That’s how we won our union and that’s how are we going to win the best contract that you ever seen?

Better than Ford, better than GM. Everybody … Chattanooga! That’s how we going to get it.