New York Times: Big Labor Gamble: Push to Unionize Every U.S. Auto Plant
A looming election at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga could be pivotal in the United Automobile Workers’ effort to organize the entire industry.
By NOAM SCHEIBER
When Shawn Fain, the United Automobile Workers president, unveiled the deal that ended six weeks of strikes at Ford Motor in the fall, he framed it as part of a longer campaign. Next, he declared, would be the task of organizing nonunion plants across the country.
“One of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we’ve never organized before,” he said at the time. “When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won’t just be with the Big Three. It will be the Big Five or Big Six.”
Four months later, the first test of that strategy has come into focus, and it features a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.