CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee: In a historic for the United Auto Workers (UAW) union as it aims to spread its umbrella beyond its Detroit base into the U.S. South and West, workers at Volkswagen’s (VW) Tennessee plant have voted to unionize.

The final tally on April 19 was 2,628 to 985, or 73 percent, voting to join the UAW, with most workers participating in the ballot.

VW’s Chattanooga factory is the first auto plant and the first foreign-owned auto plant in the South to unionize via election since the 1940s.

UAW President Shawn Fain’ has aimed to unionize plants owned by more than a dozen automakers in the U.S., including Tesla. The UAE has committed to spend US$40 million through 2026 to achieve Fain’s goal.

After the vote, VW employee Lisa Elliott said, “I am exhilarated that we actually accomplished what we set out to accomplish.”

While the UAW, which has seen its membership fall due to restructuring by the Detroit automakers, narrowly lost votes at the same plant in 2014 and 2019, this year’s success was preceded by surging public support for unions and successful contract negotiations last year with the Big Three automakers.

Harley Shaiken, professor of labor at the University of California, Berkeley, said, “The margin is overwhelming. This is a historic moment.”

VW took a neutral position on the vote at its only non-union factory globally.