In the latest twist to efforts to sabotage the union drive at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the NLRB has placed a hold on the union election at Volkswagen. In a 2-1 decision issued late Friday with only Democrat Lauren McFerran dissenting, the NLRB has placed a hold on the UAW’s attempt to hold a union election at Volkswagen.
The hold doesn’t mean that the union election will be blocked but does delay the election until more legal briefs can be heard. The delay could help the company as they seek to turn up pressure on workers to vote union. (see Payday’s exclusive “Union-Buster Rick Berman on His Anti-UAW Strategy at VW in Chattanooga”)
Volkswagen has argued that since 160 maintenance workers at the plant voted to unionize in 2015, a new union election can’t be held for that group of workers as well as production workers until a decertification vote is held to first decertify that union; a process that could take more than a year.
The move strikes the UAW as hypocritical since Volkswagen refused to recognize the union and bargain with that smaller union; insisting that they would only bargain with a union that represented all 2,000 maintenance and production workers at the plant. For nearly three years, Volkswagen has argued that the Obama era rules that allowed only maintenance workers to vote were a violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
The UAW has already withdrawn their petition for the union of 160 maintenance workers. However, Volkswagen is arguing that under federal another union election can’t be held unit a decertification vote; possibly delaying the election until 2020.
The UAW immediately denounced the decision.
“Chattanooga workers deserve a right to vote, they deserve the right to vote on the very same bargaining rights as every other VW workers in the world They should have that vote,” said UAW spokesperson Brian Rothenberg in a statement to Payday Report.
It’s unclear what effect the delay may have on the union’s chances in Chattanooga. The delay could sabotage the union’s change, but it could also turn workers against the company.
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