Volkswagen announced that it will file an appeal in federal district court Monday to overturn a previous decision not to review a contested union election.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied a request by the automaker April 13 to review the election. The United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 42 organized a subgroup of 164 skilled workers Dec. 4 at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. Volkswagen rejected the idea of workers being split between union and nonunion.
“We are disappointed that the NLRB declined to fully evaluate this important question,” Volkswagen said in a statement to Reuters. “Therefore, Volkswagen will take the necessary steps to have this issue reviewed by a federal court of appeal.”
Volkswagen originally was open to the idea of having a unionized workforce. Its only condition was that it had to be something workers at the plant actually wanted. The UAW began turning its attention to those workers it could unionize when it became clear they couldn’t get the majority to agree to being represented.
Volkswagen has advocated for a full vote of the more than 1,400 maintenance and production employees at the plant. The NLRB ruled Nov. 18 that the union can hold an election after the company rejected the idea. The Volkswagen emissions scandal also gave the union significant leverage to put pressure on the company.
The American Council of Employees (ACE) also expressed concern not long after the vote over how the union was trying to organize plant workers. ACE opposes the idea of organizing subgroups of workers within the plant and has questioned the timing of the push. The union filed for an election just a month after the company was accused of not properly testing emissions for its cars.
The UAW did not respond to requests for comment by TheDCNF.
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