The UAW in Chattanooga
Shawn Fain stands up with Volkswagen workers.
My stepmom, Dottie, has lived her entire life in Chattanooga, and she often talks about the prominence of unions in her life. Her dad worked for the city’s publicly-owned Electric Power Board, and when she married her son’s father, he and his siblings were all IBEW electricians. Most holidays, we share a meal with her sister-in-law, Susie, who spent her IBEW career working at a nuclear power plant.
After hearing these stories, I was excited to finally visit the IBEW union hall yesterday. The lobby smelled like cigarettes in a comforting way, and as I entered the wood-paneled auditorium, I stared across the walls at the fading photographs of union leadership.
Yesterday, however, the chairs were filled with Volkswagen auto assembly workers. Just over a week ago, these workers went public with their campaign to join the United Auto Workers. Chattanooga is home to the only non-union Volkswagen assembly plant in the world, and this upcoming vote will be the third time the workers have attempted to unionize since 2014.
I took a seat by the auto workers and awaited what I thought would be an inspirational stump speech from Shawn Fain. The recently elected President of the UAW had just helped deliver a historic contract for workers at the Big Three (Ford, GM, and Stellantis) and had seemingly become a household name overnight. When he entered the room, I recognized his face from a recent video of him calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, after UAW membership voted as the first major US union to take a stand.
When President Fain began to talk, he spoke in a quiet voice, with none of the pacing or drama of a good politician or a charismatic preacher. He wore a modest outfit: comfortable sneakers and a blue sweatshirt. Not intentionally dressing like shit, as the insufferable tech billionaires do, but more like an average guy you would encounter at Wal-Mart. There was a sincerity about him, and it was reflected in the content of his speech.
Shawn Fain told the auto workers about the salary he makes ($200k a year) and how it’s voted on by UAW workers. He talked about how the media describes him as a “union boss,” and why a union leader must be democratically elected by every single person on the shop floor.
He talked about the history of corruption within the UAW, and how some former leaders in the organization have gone to prison for their actions. Shawn Fain is a religious man, and he had seen the same type of scandal unfold with a former pastor at his church. Unions and churches are both made up of ordinary people, and people are fallible. When a person betrays the union, he said, it doesn’t mean the union itself is corrupt.
President Fain spoke directly to right-wing rhetoric that frames undocumented immigrants as a threat to US workers. He explained that auto workers have more in common with a desperate person crossing the border to survive than they do with a billionaire hoarding money out of bottomless greed. Drawing on stories of his own family’s deep generational roots in Tennessee, President Fain emphasized that working-class immigrants today are no different from his grandparents, who struggled to survive the Great Depression in a town not far from Chattanooga.
Instead of making a big, moving, idealistic speech, Shawn Fain was using his time at IBEW to “inoculate” the workers. As if methodically going through the checklist of a good union organizer’s handbook, he prepared them for anti-union pushback by addressing the controversial, messy, and inflammatory topics that Volkswagen’s consultants will certainly be rolling out in the coming weeks. He addressed the hard topics with humility and honesty, stating the facts, and not shying away from the fact that this would be a fight, and that it would take dedication to win.
Later, I joked to some friends that the attention and celebrity of being a labor movement figurehead is like the One Ring. It’s so much power that it easily corrupts a person, breaking them away from their movement and weakening them as an isolated individual. A leader like Shawn Fain, who can put aside his ego and give all the power back to the workers, is exceedingly rare.
At the end of the speech, an auto worker asked the President how the union could ensure that future leaders after him would not be corrupt. Shawn Fain explained that he was elected as part of a reform movement for UAW workers to vote democratically to select their leaders. As long as the workers on the shop floor have that power, they will have leaders who act in their interest.
After the meeting at IBEW, our next stop was the Volkswagen plant. Most of the auto workers clocked in for their shifts, and the rest of us community supporters gathered outside the factory gates. I stood with fellow members of Chattanooga DSA, representing one of 14 community groups from the city that had come to show support. This diverse crowd of political activists, faith leaders, and union members had all signed on to a letter written by CALEB to protest illegal union-busting activity at Volkswagen. We were hoping that Shawn Fain could peacefully present the letter to the CEO of the plant, Chris Glover. But, after a tense moment of waiting, we were told that Glover refused to meet us or accept the letter.
I was there to support the workers, but I secretly hoped that I might also meet President Fain. During and after the rally, he was constantly surrounded by local press, Volkswagen organizers, and his security and UAW staff. As the busy day came to an end, I let go of any expectation that I would get to meet him. Honestly, I just felt thrilled after hearing his speech.
Before we left Volkswagen, someone shouted for all the Chattanooga community supporters to stand together, so I kneeled on the grass to be photographed with a huge group.
After the photo, I felt a gentle hand on my arm, and someone asked, “Can you stand up?”
I looked up and it was Shawn Fain helping me to my feet.
Labor Intensive Recommendations
The Curse — the best TV show I’ve seen this year, it’s even worth getting a stupid subscription to Paramount Plus.
Prisoner of Love by Jean Genet — I’ve just started this book that reflects on years living in the West Bank. It’s written in a patchwork style where each paragraph is a tangent from the last, braiding together stories and isolated thoughts. Strange but also works for my brain in a funny way.
Becky Suss — Just announced a new exhibit at ICA Chattanooga, but I’ve been a fan of her work since I encountered it in Philly. The new paintings respond to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett which I think will be really cool!
Jenin — Palestinian olive oil! Buy it directly online, or look for it on the shelf at a small grocery. Whole Foods also stocks it, but maybe that defeats the point of buying a Palestinian product…