Seeking to defy history, the UAW is coming closer to unionizing in the South
Autoworkers at Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., will vote in mid-April on whether to join the United Auto Workers union. Mercedes workers in Tuscaloosa County, Ala., will soon follow.
The United Auto Workers union has stepped up the pace on its march south.
On Friday, Mercedes workers in Vance, Ala., filed a petition with federal labor officials for a union election — a first for workers at that plant. Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., will begin voting in their union election in less than two weeks.
The surge in union interest follows the UAW's strike against the Big 3 automakers last fall, which led to record contracts.
"We started signing [union] authorization cards Thanksgiving weekend, and it just stacked up quick," says Jeremy Kimbrell, who's worked for Mercedes for 24 years, starting out in the paint shop in
