The UAW attack of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga took another turn when the union decided on a carve-out strategy, selecting a group of 162 maintenance employees. The NLRB agreed to the micro-unit election, scheduled to begin on Dec. 3rd. The group comprises about 12% of the total plant workforce. Mike Cantrell, president of UAW Local 42, characterised the move this way: “There are multiple paths to collective bargaining, and this is a step in the right direction.” 
In an interesting move, IG Metall, Germany’s largest union, is opening a joint office with the UAW in Spring Hill, TN, a suburb of Nashville. The office will be located near a General Motors plant. According to the German union, over 100,000 Americans work for German-owned automotive companies, most of them not represented by unions. Beyond the obvious goal of helping the UAW to organize more non-union employees, the IG Metall also touts the desire to promote German-style works councils for both salaried and hourly employees.
