UPDATE: Workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant have officially voted to authorize a strike if negotiations for a new labor contract fail, according to an update from the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Under the UAW Constitution, a two-thirds majority is required to approve a strike. Union officials say employees at the Chattanooga facility “met that threshold — and then some.”

The vote gives the UAW bargaining committee the authority to call a strike should it become necessary in their efforts to secure what they describe as a “fair contract.”

“This is not a step any of us have taken lightly,” the statement reads. “Our goal is to avoid a strike. But what happens next depends on how the company responds.”

If a strike is called, union members will receive $500 per week in strike pay

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