Service & Solidarity Spotlight: UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement with Volkswagen in Chattanooga

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

UAW members who work at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have officially reached a tentative agreement (TA) on their first union contract.

These members first made history in 2024 when they became the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to join the UAW. And now, after a credible strike threat, they’ve proven what’s possible when workers band together. Highlights of the TA include 20% across-the-board wage increases, grievance rights, improved health care, better job security protections and more.

“For years, Chattanooga workers were told to settle for less while Volkswagen made record profits. So, the workers stood together and won their union—and now they’ve secured a life-changing first agreement,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “This deal proves what happens when autoworkers stand up and demand their fair share. People said Southern autoworkers could never form a union or win a union contract. Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga said, ‘Watch this.’”

“This contract is proof that if you stand up and stick together, you can win a better life,” said Kelcey Smith, a worker in the paint department. “No matter where you live, or where you work, autoworkers deserve a union contract, whether at the Big Three or Volkswagen, from Detroit to Chattanooga. Volkswagen workers are showing the whole country what’s possible.”