IG Metall Leader Signals Support for Volkswagen Skilled Trades Election

12/1/2015: Another top German labor leader has signaled support for Volkswagen skilled trades employees to form a collective bargaining unit at the company’s plant in Chattanooga.

In a letter to UAW Local 42 members, Wolfgang Lemb — who sits on the board of the powerful German trade union IG Metall — said: “We fully support your intention to negotiate with the company about your working conditions and about work place related topics.” Lemb noted that collective-bargaining negotiations conducted in a “constructive and cooperative manner” can benefit both employees and the company.

Lemb also reiterated IG Metall’s earlier statement, issued jointly with the Volkswagen Global Group Works Council (the influential group of employee leaders from around the world), that it wants Chattanooga to be a “UAW-represented facility.”

Last month, Lemb and other German labor dignitaries joined leaders from UAW Local 42 and the international union to announce the new Transnational Partnership Initiative, a joint project to explore new models of employee representation in the United States.