A labor group competing with the United Auto Workers for members at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant has qualified for limited organizing rights at the factory.

The American Council of Employees was certified by VW as having membership of at least 15 percent of hourly plant workers, Maury Nicely, an attorney for the group, said on Monday.

Also, ACE was certified as having at least 15 percent of salaried employees, he said.

Late last year, the UAW went through the same procedure, and auditors determined that the UAW had gathered signatures from at least 45 percent of the plant's blue-collar workers. That percentage allowed the union to have regular meetings with Volkswagen officials.

ACE will now have similar rights, though not as extensive. ACE will be able to convene monthly with human resources officials, hold regular on-site ACE meetings and post announcements at the factory.

Both the UAW and ACE qualified under a labor policy that VW put into place last fall.

Dan Gilmore, a Chattanooga attorney and UTC adjunct business school professor who has followed the situation at VW, said the labor policy is "very unique."

"Assuming that none of the VW employees have signed up to allow both organizations to meet with VW on their behalf, the two organizations will be discussing two different groups of employees" with the automaker, he said.

Mike Cantrell, UAW Local 42 president in Chattanooga, said the group represents more than 50 percent of the blue-collar workforce. Cantrell said in a statement that the UAW, which already has met with VW management, is focused on representing its members and solidifying its partnership with the Volkswagen Global Group Works Council.

The Chattanooga Volkswagen plant.

He said the works council "has said clearly that it wants the Chattanooga plant to be a 'UAW-represented facility.'"

Cantrell said he believes Volkswagen "will honor its commitment to recognize UAW Local 42, and we will continue working toward the process of collective bargaining with the company."

ACE interim President Sean Moss said his group provides VW employees with "a truly locally direct voice in discussions with management... ."

"Being locally led and having so many members in both the hourly and salaried groups, ACE is far more in line with Volkswagen's philosophy of employee engagement and the works council model of inclusion and direct representation," he said.

Cantrell termed ACE "a self-described anti-union group." He noted that the UAW surpassed the highest level of engagement under company rules.

Moss said ACE is ready to take the next step toward establishing a works council at the plant.

VW officials have said they want to set up a works council labor board, which the automaker has in nearly all its major factories worldwide. A works council, which can be made up of blue- and white-collar employees, oversees working conditions in a plant, such as training and safety. It does not deal with matters such as pay and benefits.

Gilmore said the VW policy doesn't certify any party for collective bargaining purposes under the National Labor Relations Act, though he believes that's what each wants.

He said if either ACE or the UAW ever are formally recognized by VW or win a secret ballot election, only then will one earn National Labor Relations Board certification as the exclusive representative of all employees in the bargaining unit.

The UAW lost an organizing election at the plant nearly a year ago by a vote of 712 to 626. However, it claimed interference by Republican politicians.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.