Chattanooga’s Local 3 News is reporting workers at the city’s Volkswagen manufacturing facility are concerned the United Auto Workers union may be pushing them toward a strike action against their will.
WRCB-TV News reports longtime employees are increasingly concerned about the consequences of a strike on both their finances and the long-term prospects for the facility there.
The story and video on their website quotes 15-year VW employee Angelo Robinson over his concern that although most employees are in favor of accepting the company’s latest offer, they’re being left out of the decision making process.
On the video, Robinson says, “You really can’t beat what they’ve given us. That’s the feeling from a majority of the people at the plant. Why don’t we get to sign this contract? If the union is really about us, how come we don’t get to make that choice?”
Robinson said he and many of his fellow employees refused to sign cards in support of a strike.
“They handed cards out for a strike vote. A guy approached me and said, ‘Would you like to sign one?’ I said, ‘Is there a ‘no’ on there?’ And he said no. Well, I don’t want to sign one.”
After one year of negotiations, VW has made what they say is their “best and final” offer.
A separate story by Local 3 News quotes an economist who says if employees do strike, the outcome could be “very bad” for them.
Read the Local 3 News story and see the video by clicking here.