Some 4,300 Volkswagen Chattanooga workers are scheduled to decide in April if they'll align with the United Auto Workers after a secret ballot vote was approved Monday in a third election at the plant.
The dates are April 17-19, as was proposed in a petition filed by the UAW last week.
(READ MORE: Third try for UAW at VW Chattanooga)
Kayla Blado, a National Labor Relations Board spokesperson, said the election was scheduled after the UAW and Volkswagen Group of America entered into a stipulated agreement over the vote that will take place at the plant.
She said the ballot count will start at 8 p.m. April 19. Because of the large bargaining unit size, Blado said in a statement the NLRB probably will take several hours to complete the ballot count.
Blado said she didn't know yet if there will be a Zoom link to observe the count as the UAW tries to unionize production and skilled maintenance employees.
Isaac Meadows, a VW assembly worker and member of the UAW's volunteer organizing committee, said workers are trying to win a better life for themselves and their families.
"We need a say in our schedules, benefits, pay, and more," he said in a statement. "We're proud to work at Volkswagen, but we also know the value of a voice at work."
(READ MORE: UAW files for VW Chattanooga vote)
Volkswagen had no immediate comment. But VW spokesperson Michael W. Lowder said last week in a statement the company respects workers' right to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests.
"We will fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision," he said. "Volkswagen is proud of our working environment in Chattanooga that provides some of the best paying jobs in the area."
After the petition was filed, President Joe Biden in a statement said he supports a vote at the plant and "American workers, too, should have a voice at work."
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee last week called it "a mistake for workers at that plant or any plant to turn their future over to someone else, namely to the union."
The UAW lost elections in 2014 and 2019 by close margins at the factory that produces the Atlas and ID.4 SUVs.
Dan Gilmore, a Chattanooga labor law attorney, said the NLRB will look at the submitted union cards to make sure they're signed and dated within the past year.
Gilmore said VW will provide contact information for those eligible to vote. Typically, he said earlier in a phone call, workers eligible to vote are those employed before the payroll end date prior to the petition filing.
According to the NLRB, those workers eligible to vote are all full-time and regular part-time production and maintenance employees. Not eligible are specialists, technicians, clerical employees, engineers, purchasing and inventory workers, along with those employed by contractors or temporary agencies, managers and supervisors.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.