Shawn Fain visits Tennessee VW plant, demands company stop union-busting

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain delivered a letter to the management of a Tennessee Volkswagen plant demanding it halt anti-union practices.

Mr. Fain, along with community leaders from Chattanooga, went to the factory Monday to stand in solidarity with the workers who have signed union cards with the UAW and to demand that VW operate in good faith.

“It’s unfortunate they are choosing to do this when they agreed to remain neutral in this process and they are not holding their end of the agreement, so we will be there every step of the way,” he said. “Workers are fed up, they are tired of being left behind, fed up with corporations raking in billions of billions of profits.”

The letter is the latest in a labor struggle at nonunion factories in the U.S.

After winning record-setting contracts with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, Mr. Fain announced that the union would target nonunion shops. The union then launched a site where workers can sign union cards.

According to the union, the launch was successful, with thousands of nonunion workers signing cards with the UAW from across the industry. Around 30% of VW’s Chattanooga employees signed with the union.

One week ago, the union filed unfair labor practice charges against VW, Hyundai and Honda. The companies have denied the allegations.

“Labor representation is part of our company’s culture; half of our glocal Supervisory Board members are labor representatives,” VW said in a statement. “We respect our workers’ right to decide the question of union representation. And we remain committed to providing accurate information that helps inform them of their rights and choices.”