As we mentioned last week, the United Auto Workers union announced it was dropping its petition to contest the results of the election defeat they suffered at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Is this a harbinger of things to come for the once-powerful auto union or is it a calculated move intended to realign their union-organizing strategy?
Looks like it could be both.
Why The UAW Backed Down
According to John Raudagaugh, law professor at Ave Maria Law School, the UAW “wanted an easier path to its ultimate objective.” He continued, “Had the UAW continued litigation [toward a new election] it would have been several years before the challenges to the subpoenas were resolved to then deal with the election objections.”
Essentially, the UAW conceded defeat because they had no other choice. It was that or waste time and money that they likely don’t have only to risk the possibility of losing another organizing election which would have sealed their fate as a defunct, ineffective institution.
Despite losing and withdrawing their petition with the NLRB, “union officials are now looking at securing another certified majority orholding a private election to organize workers” rather than going through the NLRB process again.
Meanwhile, VW is considering whether to “expand the Chattanooga plant to build a new crossover vehicle or to award the project to a VW plant in Mexico.” Had the UAW kept up its fight against Tennessee workers, and VW chosen Mexico, the blame would have likely fallen squarely on the shoulders of union bosses.
All Eyes On Detroit
In addition to finally accepting defeat at the VW plant, it seems as though “new economic realities and greater priorities are dictating the UAW’s path” forward. Next year, the Big Three – Ford, General Motors and Chrysler – are set to enter contract negotiations with the UAW. The union will likely seek to eliminate the two-tiered wage system that has kept the companies afloat over the past decade of economic instability.
However, “facing Michigan’s right-to-work law and other hurdles, the UAW will have to work much harder” to meet its pro-union objectives next year, which could be another reason they finally decided to accept their defeat in Chattanooga.
Volkswagen’s Next Move
Volkswagen welcomed the decision by the UAW to drop their bid with the NLRB to overturn the contested election results. However, the foreign automaker “will be looking for an avenue to create a workers’ council, as it has in almost all its factories around the world.”
However, federal law greatly restricts the ability of companies to create their own unions, so it remains unclear how effective that effort will be or how that could impact VW’s decision on where to locate their new crossover plant.
Our Prediction
The NLRB unleashed a new form of unionization on America in its Specialty Healthcare ruling: the micro-union. Rather than seeking to represent the majorityof workers in a place of business, a micro-union carves out one small niche at a business. For instance, one micro-union blessed by the NLRB included only the salespeople in the women’s shoe department at the Bergdorf Goodman department store; it doesn’t get more micro than that! Well the UAW has agreed not to seek to organize the plant for one year from the date of the last election. We predict that by Day 366 the UAW will be back, but rather than trying to organize the entire plant, they’ll try to get their foot in the door in just one department in the plant, one where they are extremely confident that they have strong support from the workers in that department. Maybe it will be in the paint shop, or the part of the plant that installs the interiors. But it’s safe to predict that in a little less than a year the auto industry will have it’s first micro-union. You heard it here first.
This issue is still a long way from resolved – as always, we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.