President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday voiced their support for workers at Volkswagen‘s VWAGY Chattanooga assembly plant who earlier in the day sought an election to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
What Happened: “As one of the world's largest automakers, many Volkswagen plants internationally are unionized. As the most pro-union president in American history, I believe American workers, too, should have a voice at work,” Biden said in a statement.
The Chattanooga plant is Volkswagen's only U.S. assembly plant and it employs over 4,000 autoworkers. It is the only Volkswagen plant globally that has no form of employee representation, as per the UAW. The union has sought to represent auto workers at the plant twice before in the last ten years- the first time in 2014 and then again in 2019.
“This morning, thousands of Volkswagen workers in Tennessee exercised their constitutional right to a union election,” Sanders wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Volkswagen must stop intimidating American workers from forming a union & treat its pro-union workers with respect just like it does in Germany & other countries.”
Why It Matters: Sanders previously voiced his support for UAW’s campaign to unionize non-union workers at major automakers like Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes–Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mazda, Rivian, Lucid, and Volvo, collectively employing around 150,000 U.S. workers. “We cannot expand and strengthen the middle class without a vibrant, strong and growing trade union movement,” Sanders said in November.
Biden, meanwhile, joined UAW’s striking workers on the picket line during their strike against the Detroit Three in September and is now courting votes from the union members for the upcoming elections.
For UAW, the outcome at Volkswagen could influence its momentum at other automakers, crucial for its organizational goals.
Price Action: VWAGY shares closed 2.5% higher at $14.72 on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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