The UAW appears to be setting its sights on the possibility that a $2 billion electric vehicle plant that a U.S.-based Volkswagen subsidiary is building in South Carolina could become a union auto shop.
The United Auto Workers, which has struggled to organize at plants in the South owned by foreign automakers, issued a news release Monday welcoming the expected creation of thousands of jobs at the Scout Motors plant coming to Blythewood, which is north of the state capital of Columbia.
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“We also welcome the fact that the (VW) Board of Management and the Supervisory Board have clearly stated that Volkswagen and Scout will respect employees and trade union rights at the new site. This means that future employees will have the right to decide on union representation without intimidation or influence,” the union statement said, noting that “IG Metall, the UAW and the Volkswagen Group and World Group Works Council will monitor the process in a constructive way.”
IG Metall is a prominent German labor union, and the World Group Works Council, according to previous Free Press reporting, is a group of employee representatives that works with VW management to resolve workplace issues. Both groups previously supported UAW efforts to organize workers in Tennessee.
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An email seeking comment was sent to representatives of Scout Motors.
Scout Motors, which aims to resurrect the iconic Scout name for its “next generation trucks and rugged SUVs,” announced its plans for the plant last week, saying that it has the potential to create 4,000 or more permanent jobs and produce more than 200,000 vehicles annually.
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The groundbreaking for the 1,600-acre site near Interstate 77 is planned for the middle of this year, and production is expected by the end of 2026.
A column from Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan last year on the initial Scout Motors announcement noted the stakes for automakers in Detroit. He wrote that “Volkswagen’s decision to revive the dormant International Scout brand of SUVs and pickups with a family of U.S.-centric electric vehicles is a potential stroke of genius that should cause sleepless nights for executives at Ford, Jeep, Chevrolet and GMC.”
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.