VOLKSWAGEN workers in Tennessee voted decisively to become a union shop, according to results released by the company Friday (Apr 19), marking the first victory for organised labor at an auto plant in the American South.

With a solid 73 per cent supporting, employees in the Chattanooga plant voted for representation by the United Auto Workers at the 13-year-old factory, according to results released by VW, a triumphant outcome for organised labor in a region in which it has long failed to make major gains.

“Volkswagen workers just made history!” said a UAW post to X, the former Twitter, accompanied by a short video toasting the employees.

The vote marks the latest big win for Shawn Fain, who was sworn in as UAW president in March 2023 and subsequently won significant salary hikes for members following last fall’s “Stand Up Strike” at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

In November 2023, Fain announced an ambitious organising campaign aimed at unionizing 13 companies with nearly 150,000 workers, with the majority of venues in southern US states like Tennessee.

Chattanooga was the first plant to qualify for an election. The next vote will take place at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance, Alabama from May 13-17, the National Labor Relations Board announced earlier this week. AFP

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