The Wall Street Journal (Traverse City, US) - Volkswagen AG's assembly plant in Tennessee, a focal point in the United Auto Workers' efforts to unionize a foreign auto maker in the U.S., has yet to be contacted by the union and isn't interested in efforts to organize, a local company official said.
"We probably wouldn't let them into the plant to organize unless our team members really want them to come in," VW's president of Chattanooga operations, Don Jackson, said on the sidelines of an automotive conference. "I think we have a diverse work force and have set up a good management team. I think we are doing quite well without [a union] so far."
The comments come after the UAW union and labor officials at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany, met two weeks ago about VW labor efforts to establish a German-style system of worker representation at the Tennessee plant. The Chattanooga plant, built at a cost of $1 billion, employs 2,000 workers and since May has produced a midsized sedan, the Passat.
"There is a lot of speculation out there," Mr. Jackson said.
UAW President Bob King has spearheaded a drive to organize at least one foreign-owned plant in the U.S. by the end of this year. Mr. King was in Germany conferring with labor leaders, including those at Volkswagen. German labor officials told The Wall Street Journal that Mr. King and other UAW delegates have met with them several times in recent months to drum up support for an organizing campaign at German-owned plants in the U.S. Mr. King declined to comment for this article.
