Automotive industry observers are taking note of the fact that the recently ratified contract between the United Auto Workers union and Volkswagen does not live up the promises made to Chattanooga workers just two years ago.
In a document distributed to VW employees in 2024, when it was campaigning for their votes, the UAW claimed workers at the facility were “missing out” by not being members of the union.
Among the UAW promises: Chattanooga VW workers should be getting profit-sharing checks for more than $23,000 in a single year.
Yet, the contract workers ratified after a two year negotiation appears to cap out at just $1,500 per year.
That’s a shortfall of up to $21,500 per year.
And that’s only the beginning.
The UAW also told workers they could have a raise of 32 percent if they voted to certify the union at their plant. That would have meant a top wage of $40.29 by 2026. But the contract they actually negotiated with VW offers a top rate of just $34–well below the promised rate.
The UAW promised protections against layoffs and plant closure and claims it got them. But the contract language allows VW to close the Chattanooga plant entirely if there’s market related volume decline, significant downturn in the economy, or economic hardship causing significant financial losses – leaving the door wide open for closure if the plant does not perform well.
For VW workers it was a stark reminder of how unions can and will tell employees whatever they want to hear to get a signature on an authorization card or a vote, but the realities of collective bargaining are much different.
And there is no accountability for a union that does not deliver on its promises. In fact, the National Labor Relations Board has held that such union promises are nothing more than unenforceable “campaign propaganda.” The Smith Company, 192 NLRB 1080 (1972).
You can read more about why unions don’t have to keep their promises by clicking here.