CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee: This week, the United Auto Workers (UAW) said that workers at the 3.8 million-square-foot Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking an election on union representation.

The action in Tennessee, announced last autumn after the UAW won strong contracts with Detroit automakers, will be the first test of the UAW's effort to organize nonunion automobile plants in the U.S.

It would simultaneously target more than a dozen nonunion auto plants including those run by Tesla, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Honda, and others, the union added.

The drive covers nearly 150,000 workers at factories in the South of the country, where the UAW has had little success recruiting new members.

The union said a significant majority of the VW plant's 4,000 production workers had signed cards supporting representation. Once most workers support it, the union can seek an election run by the NLRB, but it was not clear when the election would be held.

The NLRB confirmed receiving the petition and tentatively set a pre-election hearing in Atlanta on March 26.

In a statement, Volkswagen said, "We respect our 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."Workers in Chattanooga, who make Atlas SUVs and ID.4 electric vehicles, have complained about mistreatment by Volkswagen management including mandatory overtime on Saturdays, and they are also seeking higher pay, the UAW said.

In a statement provided by the union, Chattanooga worker Yolanda Peoples said, "When we win our union, we'll be able to bargain for a safer workplace, so people can stay on the job and the company can benefit from our experience."

The union has come close to representing workers at the VW plant in two previous elections in 2014 and 2019.