UAW guys from Chattanooga embody progress in South

• Rival union at Volkswagen is %22nowhere in the ballpark%22 of UAW membership

Chattanooga UAW members David Gleeson and Frank Stewart quickly learned they'd be the center of attention for the two-day UAW bargaining convention this week in Detroit.

Longtime UAW members greeted them warmly and top leaders made numerous references in speeches to the battle in Tennessee and the South to organize Volkswagen and other car companies.

Why so much attention? Gleeson and Stewart embody the union's hopes in the South and represent progress with Volskwagen in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"There was not anywhere that we went that someone didn't offer support for what Local 42 is doing to promote fair labor practices and to keep up the fight," said Gleeson, 42, of Hixson, Tenn.. "It was an honor to be invited to Detroit."

They are members of UAW Local 42, a unit established in July after the union lost a high-profile election at the Volkswagen plant in February 2014. That election pitted workers who support the UAW in Tennessee against workers who oppose the union, high-ranking Tennessee politicians and well-funded anti-union groups.

"What is most important is we did not give up," UAW Secretary-Treasurer Gary Casteel said during his speech Tuesday. "That experience only made us stronger."

In December, with help and pressure on Volkswagen by German labor union IG Metall, Volkswagen unveiled a new labor policy that allows UAW Local 42 to meet on a regular basis with the automaker's local management -- effectively giving the UAW a foot in the door at an automotive assembly plant in the South for the first time in history.

The UAW's membership has been recovering in recent years as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have hired more workers and as the union has organized casino and higher education workers. But the UAW still needs to find a way to organize more workers to improve its finances through dues and to gain more leverage in contract discussions.

"This partnership we have with our German colleagues…is truly a blessing to us. They've never backed away from the challenges, even after they saw the election not go the way we wanted it to," Casteel said in reference to IG Metall's support of the UAW in Chattanooga.

Gleeson and Stewart said attending the UAW convention has been enlightening, hearing first-hand that many of their issues and concerns about work schedules mirror those faced by Detroit Three autoworkers and agricultural manufacturers such as John Deere.

Volkswagen's new labor policy allows UAW Local 42's leaders to meet with the automaker's human resources managers every other week and with Christian Koch, CEO of the automaker's manufacturing operations in the U.S., every month. Stewart said the meetings with Volkswagen have been cordial and productive.

The UAW represents more than 50% of the hourly workers at the Volkswagen plant. The company's labor policy allows UAW to be an advocate for its members but does not give it exclusive bargaining rights or power to negotiate a contract for all workers.

A rival group, the American Council of Employers, has been certified by Volkswagen as the representative for more than 15% of its hourly and salaried workers and also meets occasionally with Volkswagen.

ACE claims it is not an anti-union organization, even though its main mission was to defeat the UAW and to keep it out of Volkswagen.

"We have created an alternative model, locally led and solely employee-focused, which is different from the traditional union structure," ACE President Sean Moss told the Free Press in February. "This has led some in the press to refer to us as an 'anti-union union'-- this is sensational and really not true. We aren't anti-anything, we are pro-VW-Chattanooga worker."

Stewart said UAW Local 42 is winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Volkswagen workers. evidenced by strong local membership numbers.

"They are nowhere in the ballpark of where we are on membership," Stewart said.

Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely.