For over a decade, fears and hesitation trumped support to form a union at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn . But the tide may be starting to shift, thanks to major labor victories in Hollywood and the auto industry in 2023.
“Momentum this time is way better than the first two times we’ve tried to unionize,” said Yolanda Peoples, who works in assembly at the Volkswagen plant.
She said that’s been especially true among her Black peers at the plant.
“Among African American women, there has been a boost as far as getting it organized this time,” she said. “I see a big change.”
Last year was a mixed bag for the labor movement. The share of U.S. workers in unions fell to 10% — the lowest since the Labor Department started collecting data on this in 1983 — largely because nonunion jobs are growing faster than union ones. At the same time, more than half a million workers went on strike, yielding big contract victories and earning the name “Hot Labor Summer.”