Look at Detroit: The United Auto Workers and the Battle to Organize Volkswagen in Chattanooga. (3rd September 2019)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Look at Detroit: The United Auto Workers and the Battle to Organize Volkswagen in Chattanooga. (3rd September 2019)
- Main Title:
- Look at Detroit: The United Auto Workers and the Battle to Organize Volkswagen in Chattanooga
- Authors:
- Minchin, Timothy J.
- Abstract:
- ABSTRACT: On February 14, 2014, workers at Volkswagen's new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted 712 to 626 against being represented by the United Automobile Workers of America (UAW). The result capped one of the most high-profile organizing campaigns of recent years, with most media accounts anticipating a UAW victory, especially as VW had declared that it would not oppose the union. The VW election is also now attracting scholarly interest, with accounts stressing the role of external opposition – especially from conservative politicians and lobby groups – along with the UAW's over-reliance on partnerships with German actors. Providing a detailed analysis of the campaign, this article recognizes the importance of these factors, but also argues that an important role was played by the UAW's strong association with the domestic automakers, and especially with Detroit, their historic base. Citing the fact that foreign automakers had expanded since the 1980s while the domestics had contracted, opponents effectively linked the UAW with economic decline. These arguments swayed many workers. Placing the VW story within the broader struggle of the UAW to organize a foreign-owned auto plant, the article also stresses structural obstacles, especially the location of Greenfield plants in areas of low union density.
- Is Part Of:
- Labor history. Volume 60:Number 5(2019)
- Journal:
- Labor history
- Issue:
- Volume 60:Number 5(2019)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 60, Issue 5 (2019)
- Year:
- 2019
- Volume:
- 60
- Issue:
- 5
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2019-0060-0005-0000
- Page Start:
- 482
- Page End:
- 502
- Publication Date:
- 2019-09-03
- Subjects:
- Organizing -- Trade unions – contemporary -- US South -- Volkswagen -- United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
Labor -- United States -- History -- Periodicals
Labor movement -- United States -- Periodicals
Labor unions -- United States -- History -- Periodicals
Travail -- États-Unis -- Histoire -- Périodiques
Mouvement ouvrier -- États-Unis -- Périodiques
Syndicats -- États-Unis -- Histoire -- Périodiques
331.0973 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/clah20#.VrC_h1Lcuic ↗
http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk/app/home/journal.asp?wasp=e1a15129576448d89193716007272a65&referrer=parent&backto=searchpublicationsresults, 1, 1;homemain, 1, 1; ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/0023656X.2019.1567700 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0023-656X
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 5137.907000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 11461.xml