Support our mission
Donate Yearly
Donate Monthly
One-Time Donation
Patreon
Venmo
In late October, Volkswagen Chattanooga workers took a historic vote to strike, but sadly, their struggle has gotten little press attention. While Payday Report has done more than a half-dozen updates on bargaining at the plant (see our most recent story), most publications, even in the left press, have neglected the struggle.
It is not unusual for Chattanooga Volkswagen workers to be ignored by the media for so long. For more than 12 years, I have covered the struggle at Volkswagen Chattanooga, which drew worldwide attention when workers first voted down the union in 2014, but which, sadly, has garnered very little press coverage in recent years.
In the 12 years that I've covered the union struggle, I've written over 80 stories on the workers' fight there. My work has been cited in books, and The New York Times even asked me to write about it.
Now, I hope to be there in Chattanooga to cover the strike mobilization as workers fight for a first union contract. With the corporate media ignoring this one, we are gonna need your donations to fund this reporting.
Since my first trip to Chattanooga in 2013, I have been drawn to the power of the union for local people, and I knew that getting a union there would change the town. I remember the cold, drizzling night in early February of 2014, watching as Wayne Cliett, a pro-union worker, shook hands with anti-union workers and pledged to keep fighting to change their minds.
"I'm a stubborn man," Cliett told me that night more than a decade ago. "Some are talking about quitting. I will be walking into the plant on Monday with my head held high and preaching the message of solidarity."
It took ten years and two failed votes before, in April of 2024, 72% of Chattanooga Volkswagen workers voted to unionize in a landslide victory.
After more than a year of bargaining, workers at Volkswagen Chattanooga have voted to authorize a strike as they seek a first contract. After more than a decade, workers in Chattanooga are close to achieving something once unthinkable: a union contract.
(Be sure to read our most recent story, "Following Strike Vote, Volkswagen Chattanooga Workers Build Momentum.")
Now, I hope to travel down to Chattanooga to cover any potential strike at the plant. To do so, I hope to raise $1,500 to create a travel fund to go there if a strike is called. (If a strike isn't called, we will use whatever money is raised to cover workers elsewhere and cover editorial costs.)
Because we don't know when a strike will be called and will likely only have a few days' notice, airline tickets are likely to be expensive, so it's essential to build a fund now. Booking a hotel room and renting a car will be costly, but it will be worth it to be there on the day when Chattanooga Volkswagen workers win their first contract.
Support our mission
Donate Yearly
Donate Monthly
One-Time Donation
Patreon
Venmo
