March has been a busy month for the automotive labor movement. The United Auto Workers––which represents hundreds of thousands of autoworkers and is trying to organize thousands more at foreign automakers and EV manufacturers to try to secure workers’ futures in the EV transition––filed federal labor charges against Volkswagen, ratified a contract for EV battery plant workers, and threw its support behind proposed tariffs that have jolted the industry. First up: The UAW alleged that Volkswagen is “violating US labor law” by reducing jobs at a Tennessee plant and claimed the automaker is attempting to “make major changes without first negotiating with the union, as required by law.” Volkswagen says this claim is “categorically false” and that it has been negotiating the shift reduction with the union “for months.” Workers at the Chattanooga plant voted last year to join the UAW and are negotiating their first contract with the company. VW attributed its decision to reduce a shift at the plant, where it builds numerous models including the electric ID.4, in part to slower EV demand, as well as broader efforts to make its global business more efficient. The company is implementing a voluntary attrition program. “The UAW has notified the Trump administration of Volkswagen’s unacceptable, anti-union, anti-worker, and anti-American conduct,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “It is no accident that they want to ram through a layoff in America in the days before expected auto tariffs take effect, as they profit from high exploitation labor in Mexico.” Keep reading here.—JG |