Echoing the collaboration between German organized labor and the United Auto Workers in the push for worker representation at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga facility, Daimler’s works-council head, Michael Brecht, will head to Alabama and meet with UAW representatives.
“He is convinced that the employees in the company need to have their interests represented by having their voice heard,” a Daimler spokeswoman said in a statement published by Reuters. “Together with German union IG Metall, he will evaluate how the UAW can be supported in their efforts.”
The apparent collaboration is likely to ignite a battle over organized labor at foreign-owned auto factories in the traditionally anti-union south.
The works-council system is less controversial in Germany, where labor representatives hold half the seats on company boards. Automakers cannot replicate the model in the US, where it is considered a “company union” and banned by labor laws.
The UAW has come under increasing criticism for its sometimes adversarial relationship with US automakers, particularly during the 2008-2009 industry crisis. As membership numbers continue to dwindle from a peak in the late ’70s, the union likely views the south as a potential turnaround.
Leave a Reply