# Talk:Volkswagen and unions

German/Brazil bilateral organizing between IG Metall and Central Única dos Trabalhadores including averting layoffs during 1998 Brazilian economic crisis (Samba effect??)

Rüb, Stefan (May 2002). "World works councils and other forms of global employee representation in transnational undertakings: A survey". Arbeitspapiere, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. 55.
Anner, Mark (2003). "Industrial Structure, the State, and Ideology: Shaping Labor Transnationalism in the Brazilian Auto Industry". Social Science History. 27 (4): 603–634. ISSN 0145-5532.
~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 00:27, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Sources on anti-apartheid case studies

"Trade-Union Internationalism and Solidarity in the Struggle against Apartheid: A Case Study of Volkswagen". Historical Studies in Industrial Relations (23–24). 2007. doi:10.3828/hsir.2007.23-24.5.
Bolsmann, Chris (2010-12-01). "Contesting Labor Internationalism: The "Old" Trapped in the "New" in Volkswagen's South African Plant". Labor Studies Journal. 35 (4): 520–539. doi:10.1177/0160449X10365560. ISSN 0160-449X.
Hlatshwayo, Mondli; Buhlungu, Sakhela (2017). "Work reorganisation and technological change: limits of trade union strategy and action at ArcelorMittal, Vanderbijlpark". African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie. 21 (1): 126–153. ISSN 1027-4332.
Feel free to add them in article directly ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 00:27, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Agency workers of China at FAW-Volkswagen

"One year on, the struggle continues for Volkswagen workers in Changchun". China Labour Bulletin. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
"Equal Pay: VW Grapples with Contract Worker Revolt in China". www.handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 22:37, 6 December 2021 (UTC)

Currently c:Main doesn't have any relevant images except for File:1. Mai Hannover Otto-Brenner-Straße Transparent Metaller Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge IG Metall.jpg which I don't love, because it's blurry. I searched Flickr for IG Metall/Volkswagen related pics, but none of them are freely licensed. I will contact IG Metall and ask if they could release the license for one of the images here [1]. Would love photos of VW worker organizations around the world too ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 14:19, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Hi from WP:GERMANY! As someone who knows very little about this topic, here's what I feel is missing from this article at present:

Leadership section: seems orphaned. I'd expect something like "Organizational Structure" here instead, if you have more info you can add to that? I would also not expect this to come before History.
Similarly, Ownership Structure seems misplaced, but since it's just a couple of lines and I don't know anything else about the topic I don't have any suggestions here.
A brief Background section like in the article on Amazon would be really helpful
Is the History section "done"? If so, I don't know why it stops in '49.
And of course the sections on individual countries still need fleshing out, but you obviously know that and are working on them already.
I hope this extremely non-expert review is at least a little helpful! -- asilvering (talk) 17:46, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

@Asilvering Thank you! I incorporated some of your feedback and struggled with structure as well! A purely linear history felt like wrong approach, so I wanted to document an early history, but for other sections, give distinct dimensions. Collective bargaining will likely be a section of its own, or within Germany. With more sources, the Supervisory Board, Works Councils can also be fleshed out. Global Framework Agreements, working standards (28/35 and the 5000x5000 programmes can all be covered as well). I expect the structure of this article to change further, with more information being added. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 18:43, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

The IG Metall Vertrauenskörperleitung VW (VKL; Shop Steward Committee?) organizes the shop stewards at Volkswagen. Official link. In the academic article below (In German) on Page 219, it explains the link between IG Metall VKL and Works Council. 

Dombois, Rainer (2009). "Die VW-Affäre — Lehrstück zu den Risiken deutschen Co-Managements?". Industrielle Beziehungen / The German Journal of Industrial Relations. 16 (3): 219. ISSN 0943-2779.
Couldn't find more sources, will keep digging. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 19:47, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

I wish to add sections on Brazil, China soon but they're not needed for GAN criteria. Breadth is a main criterion (#3) of Good Article status, so if there are significant activities in Brazil and China, they would need to be covered for GA status. czar 18:44, 24 December 2021 (UTC)
@Czar I am working on filling up the Brazil section, the 1977 strike (pt:Greves de 1978-1980 no ABC Paulista; not existing in English yet) is where Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as leader of the Sao Bernardo do Campo metal union became famous practically overnight. VW Worker's involvement was minimal in the first strike, but major in the following year during the "relaxation" periods. It's not quite clear to me what the line between "breadth" and "comprehensive" coverage is and what major facts can be included/omitted for GAN criteria, especially historic info. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 09:18, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
Sounds good! I was only commenting based on what I saw in the GA nom note. For breadth vs. comprehensiveness, just covering Brazil and China in broad strokes should be sufficient, comparing Good Article criterion 3 ("major aspects of the topic") vs. Featured Article criterion 1b ("neglects no major facts"). czar 18:47, 29 December 2021 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:Volkswagen worker organizations/GA2. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: Coldupnorth (talk · contribs) 08:45, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Good day, I will undertake the GA review of this article and will list my comments and findings below. Thank you. Coldupnorth (talk) 08:45, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
It is reasonably well written.
a (prose, spelling, and grammar):  b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists): 

It is factually accurate and verifiable.
a (reference section):  b (citations to reliable sources):  c (OR):  d (copyvio and plagiarism): 

It is broad in its coverage.
a (major aspects):  b (focused): 

It follows the neutral point of view policy.
Fair representation without bias: 

It is stable.
No edit wars, etc.: 

It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales):  b (appropriate use with suitable captions): 

Overall:
Pass/Fail: 

Overall, a well referenced and interesting article. I believe there are a few minor issues with regards clarity and writing as per below. Also a reference is needed for one paragraph. Overall, it is nearly at GA. I have placed the article on hold to allow you to address the comments below. Thank you. Coldupnorth (talk) 09:53, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Lead - The lead section should be improved. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section for further guidance. While this is a group of organizations, the title of the article should ideally be in the first sentence. Also the opening sentence The German auto manufacturer Volkswagen Group, with operations in 29 countries across 120 plants, employs over 120,000 people within Germany and 600,000 globally, it is one of the most well organized labour backed companies in the world. is long. I would suggest splitting up into a couple of sentences. I also think the lead section could be expanded to provide a better overview of the article. For example, the lead should define that Works Councils and IG Metalls are Volkswagen worker organizations. Instead it says they play a unique role. It is not sufficiently clear.
 Done
Transnational activity - third sentence. 'Transnational labor organizing'. Here, the spelling 'labor' is used, but in the lead 'labour' is used. There should be consistency between spelling if the article is using British English. I would also note that the title of the article has 'organizations' yet there is a tag in the lead to use British English which would be 'organisations'.
 Done now using Oxford English
Transnational activity - first paragraph. There needs to be a linking sentence/introduction as to how the International Solidarity working group, European Works Council, etc fit into the context of Volkswagen worker organizations as it is not immediate clearl. For example, Workers of Volkswagen are represented through several different organisations, including...
 Done
Global Works Council - first paragraph. It consisted of 27 seats - please define further. Who are these seats for? Workers across the group? Or a mixture of workers, managers, shareholders?
 Done
Global Works Council - second paragraph. "A general tension exists between the interests of the workers in the host country (Germany) and foreign member states of the European and Global Works Council, but workers in foreign states also gain strategic benefits from having close access to a well resourced trade union (IG Metall) and the Germany-based Works Council structures." This sentence is not clear. General tension is somewhat ambigious. I would suggest splitting up into a couple of sentences and clearly define what the tension is in relation to? For example, working hours, pay, etc?
 Done this article gives some interesting examples, of how weaker labour standards are perceived as competitive advantages for employers, so German trade unions are able to counteract that, by strengthening worker rights, with transnational instruments. On other hand, in case of Italy, Germany's social-partnership approach differs from the more conflictual industrial dispute model..
VW World Group Council - The table is as of 1999. I appreciate sources may be difficult for an article of this kind, however a 23 year old reference of group council members is well out of date. Please consider sourcing an alternative reference.
 Partly done I will keep the table here for now, but found in existing source, claim that there are now 100 employee representatives as of 2017.
Supervisory Board - there is a clarification needed tag. Unlike its automotive competitors BMW or Daimler, this means there is only one federally negotiated collective agreement between the employer and IG Metall, which is more favourable for all Germany based VW workers as a result. To what extent is it more favourable? Also, what are the differences with BMW or Daimler, do they have multiple collective agreements?
 Done Yeah, BMW/Daimler and most other employees conclude an agreement for example with Gesammtmetal Berlin, Gesammtmetal Bayern and so on, instead of a singular/federal collective agreement. Sources are rather inconclusive about which agreements are Inhouse versus company, but the general point is, VW directly negotiates with IG Metall, which is unique. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 21:41, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

1937-1945: Nazi origins - consider adjusting the structure of this section. This text seemed out of place as did the adjacent section. The history should come first, then with a discussion of the current councils, board, chair etc. For example, the historical section onVolkswagenwerk should be before the parent group being privisated in 1960 in the previous paragraph.
 Done
South Africa - 2nd paragraph - reference needed for "By May 1969, half of VWSA's coloured workers were organized with the National Union of Motor Assembly and Rubber Workers of South Africa (NUMAWOSA) and they were formally recognized by VWSA"
 Done and also corrected page numbers.
General comment - Looking at the associated List of Volkswagen Group factories , the Mladá Boleslav factory in the Czech Republic is the third largest VW factory, with some 27,000+ employees. However, VW worker organisations in the Czech Republic are not discussed, although Slovakia is. Given the scale of this in relation to other VW factories, I would have expected coverage on the Czech republic. Although I do not think this prevents the article being GA, as it is comprehensive generally, I think it would be a good addition should content/references be available.
 Done
General comment - consider adding additional imagery and captions to the country based sections.
 Not done I have scoured Flickr and Wikimedia for permissably licensed imagery. It is not easy. I have also contacted some of these worker organizations, to see if they would be willing to donate material. If that changes, I will insert them in. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 21:41, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
Thank you User:Coldupnorth for such a thorough and excellent review! I will make my way through your comments. I have some time tomorrow, but otherwise will be traveling until October 23rd with limited internet access, so let me know if you'd be willing to extend your waiting period for reviews. Either way, kind regards! ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 20:24, 9 October 2022 (UTC)
Hi @Shushugah, your welcome. Not a problem, I am happy to leave it on hold until after the 23rd to give you the time to work through the comments. Please just let me know when its ready. Many thanks Coldupnorth (talk) 21:18, 9 October 2022 (UTC)
Coldupnorth hey there, am making my way through your reviews. I hope to be done by the end of this week and already the article is in improved state. I included some comments on my progress/clarifications. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 21:41, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
Hi Shushugah, thank you, that's good progress. I will continue to keep on hold, please let me know when you finish responding to all the comments. Re the additional imagery, no problem, it was a 'nice to have', not a 'need to have' as there are at least a few images + captions in the article. Coldupnorth (talk) 18:17, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
Hi, Shushugah how are you getting on with addressing the remaining queries? The article has now been on hold for quite a long time, longer than normal for the GA process. If you are unable to reserve these queries soon, I will need to fail the article. Thanks. Coldupnorth (talk) 16:35, 12 November 2022 (UTC)
Coldupnorth thank you for the patient nudge. I have been working on it continuously, (careful reading of the sources was most time-consuming, not surprisingly) and I believe I have now addressed all of your concerns. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 03:38, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

It is reasonably well written.
a (prose, spelling, and grammar):  b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists): 

It is factually accurate and verifiable.
a (reference section):  b (citations to reliable sources):  c (OR):  d (copyvio and plagiarism): 

It is broad in its coverage.
a (major aspects):  b (focused): 

It follows the neutral point of view policy.
Fair representation without bias: 

It is stable.
No edit wars, etc.: 

It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales):  b (appropriate use with suitable captions): 

Overall:
Pass/Fail: 

Hi Shushugah, thank you for replying to the queries and making the required changes/reference additions. I now believe this article is at GA level. Well done. Coldupnorth (talk) 13:18, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Worth reading through/adding content from :de:Co-Manager (Betriebsrat) perhaps. ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 11:29, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

There is a fair amount more than can be expanded about the recent Tennessee successful election as a national moment and how it's affecting UAW strategy. [2][3][4] for starters.
Also there was a 2023 book that would be relevant here: Stephen J. Silva's The UAW's Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Vehicle Plants. czar 12:28, 28 April 2024 (UTC)