VW Sticks to Tennessee Works Council Plan After UAW Miss

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-17/vw-sticks-to-tennessee-works-council-plan-after-uaw-miss.html

Volkswagen AG (VOW) plans to pursue labor representation at its Tennessee car factory even after employees voted against joining the United Auto Workers union.

The world’s second-largest carmaker intends to organize a works council at the site in Chattanooga, where 53 percent of workers rejected UAW membership in balloting that ended Feb. 14. The employee groups, which are common throughout Volkswagen’s home country of Germany, deal with workplace issues, such as scheduling and safety, and represent staff in disputes with management.

“Our goal continues to be to determine the best method for establishing a works council” in Chattanooga, Frank Fischer, head of VW’s only U.S. factory, said in an e-mail statement following the vote. “We found great enthusiasm for the idea of an American-style works council both inside and outside our plant.”

The UAW’s narrow loss in Chattanooga could force the union to regroup as it seeks to sign up workers at a Daimler AG factory in Alabama and Nissan Motor Co.’s U.S. workforce. The UAW previously failed to convince workers to join the union at Nissan as well as the U.S. factories of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

[okaawhatever]

1. I have to wonder if VW was in cahoots with Corker all along. VW Management

didn't support a union. It was the works council at headquarters that wanted a works council set up in the US before the SUV was moved there. They threatened to protest if that wasn't done. They're smart, they don't want a non-union plant taking all the business in the future.
With US Labor law, you can't have a corporate union(which is what the works council is considered here). You must have outside representation, which is why the UAW was involved. I think the management at VW wanted a works council only, without any real teeth, and may have helped Corker tank the UAW vote. Corker said he spoke with experts who thought a works council without third party union backing could pass US Law. None of the other legal experts agree, but Corker may be counting on the current scotus to find the law unconstitutional. Regardless, it's curious that Corker previously contacted top legal scholars about doing the works council without UAW, VW management only wanted a works council, and now the UAW vote tanked and they're looking at finding a way to go works council only.

[ananda]

2. Does any management support a union?

That is why labor needs to organize and stay focused.

[Sunlei]

3. will the "works council" cover all the employees or just the 1,500 who were allowed to vote Union?

read in company stats about 10,000 'workers' on their 140 acre complex.

[okaawhatever]

5. Where did you read about the 10k workers? Is that at the HQ in Germany? The

Chattanooga plant has just over 2k workers and 1556 were elligible to vote for the union. The factory was designed to have another line, so it's not fully staffed, but I don't know where the 10k is coming from.

[Sunlei]

6. from their own website. People numbers who 'work' on the VW 140 acre complex.

"Employment: More than 3,200 Volkswagen employees
More than 9,500 indirect supplier employees" ref http://www.volkswagengroupamerica.com/facts.html

As you see they have several buildings on the 140 acre complex for these workers.

I wanted to see how many actual workers are used when I saw only ~1,500 were called "eligible to vote"

I wondered who those 10k person were who don't even have a right to vote where they work. I also wondered how many of "NOT eligible to vote" are Tenn. prison labor work crews and/or foreign visa work crews.

[okaawhatever]

8. I would imagine the other workers all work for suppliers. You know most auto

plants have multiple parts suppliers nearby. Maybe VW put them all one the same parcel of land. I know they have a solar farm there, but it's owned by someone else and VW just buys the electric. I can't imagine that would employ too many people, if anyone at all.

[Sunlei]

11. second class 'no vote allowed' 'workers', without their labor there would not be a finished product.

Doubt their pay scale is anywhere close to the '1,500' eligible to vote 'employees'.

[okaawhatever]

13. I think what A Heretic I AM said is correct. Since the suppliers are employed by different companies

they may or may not be represented by a union, but the high wages at VW are because of their other unions. I don't think the workers fully understand that. One of the arguments the anti-union folks were using is that VW workers made more than the GM union workers. That wasn't true, but what is true is that GM workers in Tier 2 start out making $18 per hour and VW makes $19 per hour. Of course, the average GM worker makes more than that, but they didn't mention that. I don't think the VW workers realize that their pay won't stay high unless they unionize or the other unions force high wages so all the business doesn't go to the Chattanooga plant.

It wouldn't surprise me to find out VW didn't want a union so the could move a lot of production there and pay them a lot less. The non-unionized Nissan plant nearby makes less than the $19 and they go through workers like you wouldn't believe. Nissan doesn't have a full plant, only various parts plants.

I do know that the UAW signed an agreement with VW that basically allowed the works council to have final say on safety, training and those items, but the UAW would still negotiate pay. I don't know what the truth is, but I don't think the VW plant was as willing as they claimed to have the union there.

[A HERETIC I AM]

17. Thanks for the backup, but Nissan Smyrna is indeed an assembly plant

The Nissan plant in Smyrna, TN, south of Nashville assembles the Nissan Pathfinder and it's Infiniti counterpart, the QX60 among others. I tried to find a list of Nissan vehicles built in North America, but had no luck.

Nissan also operates a vehicle assembly plant in Canton, MS.

I have hauled cars out of the Smyrna plant, but not Canton.

[okaawhatever]

18. I was thinking of the Decherd plant. I was talking to someone who used to work there the other day.

I forgot about the Smyrna plant. Thanks for reminding me.

[A HERETIC I AM]

19. .....

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. There aren't ten thousand workers at that plant.

Not by a long shot.

I have been at that plant many times - I have hauled Passats (the only model currently assembled there) out of there a few dozen times since late 2011.

Those "9500 indirect supplier employees" would cover everyone from the truckers who haul containers of parts in, to the workers in the factories that make those parts all over the world.

[Sunlei]

14. They have buildings ON the 140 acres where those other non-voters work.

"a supplier park for eight companies" is the way this is worded in their press releases. On the Chat. Tenn. website I posted they claim the 10k+ as employees.

They didn't say 'employee numbers' were factory workers from around the world. I'm sure they buy a lot of parts not made in Germany or America. The complex did state somewhere 85% of the cars are built on site.

I'm still surprised that there were only 1,500 employees of VW- (Chat. Tenn. location) who had the right to even vote on a Union.

[A HERETIC I AM]

16. No, I'm sorry but you are wrong.

I looked at the website. I understand your confusion, but I promise you, as I said....I have been there MANY times....there is not 10,000 people that work at that plant or on that property. And it is 1,400 acres, not 140.

You must understand that when a company like VW uses the word "Suppliers" they are including companies like machine shops with 12 employees in Michigan that make springs that fit in the door handles, OK?

The Passats assembled there have engines built in Germany and transmissions built in Brazil, if memory serves. They are likely including all the peripheral people in those operations as well.

Now....Having said all that, let me make it clear that it is possible (though not likely) in the future for that facility to employ that many, but it is a long way off. They have the room and, from what I gathered talking to employees at the plant, VW has plans to build another assembly hall to the West of the present facility. They have already done the ground prep work. I haven't been there since probably last September, so as far as I know they may have broken ground on it already.

If you go to Google maps and find the plant on the NE side of Chattanooga you will see the large plot of cleared land right next to the large building that has "VOLKSWAGEN CHATTANOOGA" on the roof.

Here....I'll help;

https://maps.google.com/?ll=35.076826,-85.128894&spn=0.031328,0.066047&t=h&z=15

If you zoom in you will see that the Google copyright watermark on the closer shots says "2013" so they are fairly recent satellite shots. The land I am talking about is that portion under the word "Chattanooga", across that street from the building with the text on the roof.

There was talk of the new line being an Audi line, a line for a New SUV or even a Volkswagen Pickup Truck.

If you move the perspective around with your mouse you will see the finished vehicle shipping area which is bordered on the Southwest by the railroad sidings. The Auto Transport loading area is clearly visible with several trucks in various stages of the loading process. Every single car is a Passat. The textured, rectangular structures are tents for hail protection. Not long after the plant started production, a thunderstorm system passed over and several hundred cars were damaged by hail.

[Sunlei]

20. Thanks for posting the map. One of those Amazon fulfillment warehouses close too.

Tenn. 'for profit' Detention Facilities also very close for more low-paid, non-union, Corp. 'employees'.

I found it sad that one of the few Unions America has left only had access to 1500 out of the 10k+ listed as "employees" of VW.

[pampango]

4. Such councils ... have a say in everything from hiring and firing staff to plant operations.

With half the seats on German supervisory boards taken by labor representatives, the country’s manufacturers are accustomed to working with unions. Volkswagen’s deputy chairman is Berthold Huber, the former head of Germany’s IG Metall union, which had supported the Tennessee organizing effort.

“We’ve shown we can cooperate successfully with unions in the U.S.,” Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche told reporters at a company event near Granada, Spain, last week. Daimler is “neutral” on UAW’s efforts to organize at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama, he said. Daimler also owns Portland, Oregon-based Freightliner. The truckmaker operates UAW-organized factories in North Carolina.

VW’s works council plans to begin talks with experts on U.S. employment law in the next two weeks to set up an organization in Chattanooga.

“We have always stressed that the decision over union representation lies in the hands of the workers in Chattanooga,” the German labor group’s secretary general Gunnar Kilian said in a statement. “The result of the election has not changed our goal of creating a works council” at the U.S. assembly plant.

It sounds like the German auto workers union was behind the push to unionize the Tennessee VW workforce and that VW is comfortable with unions and the works council concept.

Apparently US labor law forbids such work councils without outside union representation. The Germany’s IG Metall union officials must be scratching their heads at the rejection of a union at a company that wants one. The German auto union still wants VW to pursue the works council plan, but who knows if they will find a way to do that in light of our labor laws.

[jwirr]

7. As I see it working with the labor force is part of the business model in these VW owned plants. The

rethug had no business sticking his head in where it does not belong. VW is not going to give up a business model that works for them. Why should they.

[groundloop]

10. What a radical concept - treat employees fairly, be safety concious, and listen to their input.....

Gee, how can a company that does those things stay in business???



(of course)

[jwirr]

12. Ironically that is the question the politician was asking and he is serious about it.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. Nazi References on Fox News starting in 3.....2.....1.....(nt)