Last fall the United Automobile Workers union won big pay increases from the Detroit automakers, and the impact rippled quickly through the nonunion auto plants scattered across the South.
On production lines in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and elsewhere, those pay increases have been referred to as the “U.A.W.
bump.”Now 4,300 workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., will test whether the union can achieve an even greater bump.
On Wednesday, they begin voting on whether to join the U.A.W., and the prospects of a union victory appear high.
About 70 percent of the workers pledged to vote yes before the union asked for a vote, according to the U.A.W.
Persons:
Tesla, “, ”, Kelcey Smith
Organizations:
United Automobile Workers, Detroit automakers, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, VW
Locations:
United States, Alabama , Tennessee , Kentucky, Chattanooga , Tenn