APNewsBreak: UAW says new Volkswagen policy to open door to union representation in Tennessee

The United Auto Workers says an upcoming policy change by Volkswagen would clear the way for it to become the first union to bargain on behalf of employees at a foreign automaker in the South.

In a letter to members of Local 42 in Chattanooga obtained by The Associated Press Monday, union leaders cite "mutually agreed-upon commitments" outlined in a document signed by the German automaker and the union last spring.

Those included that the union would drop a National Labor Relations Board challenge of a February union vote at the plant and that the UAW would cooperate with the company in efforts to win the production of a new SUV in Chattanooga.

In return, according to the letter, "Volkswagen committed in the document that it would recognize the UAW."