UAW organizing at VW moves forward

This is a significant development, given that the UAW lost two previous plantwide elections at VW, in 2014 (workers.org/2014/02/13088/) and 2019. In 2014 anti-union organizations and politicians ran a massive scare campaign, falsely claiming that the company would close the plant if the union won the election. In 2019, the anti-UAW effort exploited a well-publicized corruption scandal in the union, which included bribe-taking, kickbacks from vendors and theft of union funds.

Now, with many corrupt leaders and staff ousted, a new, more militant leadership and strong contracts without concessions, the UAW has a good chance of winning union representation in Chattanooga. With most non-union auto plants located in the U.S. South, a win at VW could be the start of an organizing push throughout the region, in auto and beyond.

The UAW’s historic organizing drive and the strike that preceded it represent a return to class struggle unionism. The next big step for the UAW is to break with the Democratic Party, particularly President Joe Biden, aka “Genocide Joe.”