UAW's Fain says VW victory shows union 'can win anywhere'

The landslide at Volkswagen potentially foretells a positive result in the election at Mercedes, too, WSU's Masters said: "It's certainly an indicator that it has the opportunity to represent workers all across the country. They obviously will face different levels of obstacles depending on the region and the particular employer they’ll be dealing with. (Fain) recognizes that he can only achieve so much success in the UAW in its current state. Labor has to grow."

The UAW last fall, after reaching record agreements with the Detroit Three, announced its campaign seeking to double the number of its 146,000 autoworker members by organizing plants at 14 automakers. Earlier this year, it said it was putting $40 million toward the efforts there and at electric vehicle battery plants through 2026.

The union, at the end of 2023, recorded its smallest membership volume since the Great Recession. The more than 370,000 total represented a loss of nearly 13,000 workers. But the Volkswagen organization effort is a sign that "our union is growing, and we're going to continue to grow, and we all went through this, and it strengthened us," Fain said.

He added that sacrifices made by Detroit Three autoworkers — especially those on strike in the fall that resulted in 27% compounded wage increases by the end of 2027, the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, billions of dollars in investments, fewer tiers and increased retirement contributions — were the match that lit the flame to make the organizing campaign at VW successful.

"When we bargain good contracts, people want to be a part of that," he said. "Bargaining and organizing go hand-in-hand. We bargained a great contract. The companies right away try to throw raises at employees to try to keep them from wanting to organize, because they don't want workers to have justice on the job. And obviously, the workers see that for what it is."

Following the tentative agreements at the Detroit Three, several competitors announced changes to pay scales. As a part of an annual compensation review, top-paid Volkswagen production workers saw an 11% pay increase to $32.40 per hour and the timeline to the top decreased to four years from seven. The percentage increase was the same as what Detroit Three automakers immediately received upon ratification, raising their pay to more than $25 per hour. The timeline for the top pay also decreased to three years from eight.

Fain said the union has leads on further expansion efforts and a plan in place to continue its organizing drive. He emphasized the role of an expanded organizing department with new leaders, such as Director Brian Shepherd, in addition to learnings from past campaigns. Members of organizing councils at VW and Mercedes-Benz have talked about how workers in the plants are playing a larger role in spurring support.

"We've been ingrained in this union for a long time at doing things the same way, and I felt like it was important to bring in some people that have a different set of eyes and a different set of beliefs and then combine those things and get the best plan going forward, " Fain said. "Ultimately, it was the workers. They went to work. And they went to work in the shop floor and rallied fellow workers."

Fain added that he felt like opposition from politicians — namely Republican governors from six states, including Tennessee — had the opposite effect from what was intended: "They want to instill fear and uncertainty in their workers, and they'll use their surrogates and politicians and outside groups. The tricks the company uses, they don't work anymore. They really had no impact because the workers have seen it. They know. They made the call for what it is."