http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-17/vw-sticks-to-tennessee-works-council-plan-after-uaw-miss.html
Volkswagen AG (VOW) plans to pursue labor representation at its Tennessee car factory even after employees voted against joining the United Auto Workers union.
The world’s second-largest carmaker intends to organize a works council at the site in Chattanooga, where 53 percent of workers rejected UAW membership in balloting that ended Feb. 14. The employee groups, which are common throughout Volkswagen’s home country of Germany, deal with workplace issues, such as scheduling and safety, and represent staff in disputes with management.
“Our goal continues to be to determine the best method for establishing a works council” in Chattanooga, Frank Fischer, head of VW’s only U.S. factory, said in an e-mail statement following the vote. “We found great enthusiasm for the idea of an American-style works council both inside and outside our plant.”
The UAW’s narrow loss in Chattanooga could force the union to regroup as it seeks to sign up workers at a Daimler AG factory in Alabama and Nissan Motor Co.’s U.S. workforce. The UAW previously failed to convince workers to join the union at Nissan as well as the U.S. factories of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
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