Washington, DC (April 16, 2014) –The United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials’ request to exclude Chattanooga, Tennessee Volkswagen workers seeking to defend the recent unionization vote in their workplace has been rejected by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The VW employees filed the motion to intervene with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys after the UAW union filed objections to the recent highly-publicized election in their workplace.

UAW union officials filed the objections with the NLRB after Chattanooga VW workers voted against giving the UAW monopoly bargaining control over the plant via a rapid-fire unionization election.

In response, the workers filed a motion to intervene in the objection process to defend the election results. The NLRB Acting Regional Director in Atlanta ruled to allow the workers to defend the vote during the proceedings. UAW union officials then appealed the Regional Director’s decision to the Board in Washington, D.C.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the NRLB’s ruling:

«The NLRB Acting Regional Director ruled that the workers are entitled to defend the election results. The decision over whether or not to unionize is supposed to lie with the workers, which makes the attempt by the UAW to shut them out of this process all the more shameful.

«And based on Volkswagen management’s actions leading up to this point, these workers are concerned that VW will not actively defend their vote to remain free from union boss control and the workers’ intervention ensures that at least one party to the process is fully invested in upholding the election results.

«The real question here is: Why are UAW officials so afraid of workers and their National Right to Work Foundation-provided attorneys being part of this process?»

Foundation staff attorneys representing the VW employees will attend the NLRB hearing on Monday, April 21.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in more than 250 cases nationwide per year.