11/30/15: Berthold Huber, who served as interim chairman of the Volkswagen Supervisory Board through leadership transitions during 2015, has expressed his support for skilled trades employees to form a collective bargaining unit at the company’s plant in Chattanooga.In a letter received today by UAW Local 42, Huber states: “The workers and their families need an independent voice to discuss and to bargain over their working conditions at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee.” Later in the letter, he adds: “The election to recognize a bargaining unit for the skilled trades workers will be a first step to develop a sustaining and constructive relationship between management and employees.”
Huber, president of the IndustriALL Global Union, commended Local 42 members for their “courage” and expressed optimism in the outcome of a representation election for Volkswagen’s skilled trades employees on December 3-4. “Your success will stand as a symbol for the beginning of a new era of industrial relations that will pave the way for a better future of all the working people in the United States,” Huber wrote.
IndustriALL, which represents more than 15 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors, is a global force in advancing worker rights. Huber has previously expressed his support for Local 42.
Former Volkswagen Chairman Voices Support for Skilled Trades Election