Volkswagen Sues NLRB in Texas to Halt New Jersey Labor Case (1)

Volkswagen Group of America Inc. is asking a federal court in Texas to stop the National Labor Relations Board from acting on a case that could force it to negotiate with a union at a New Jersey facility.

Volkswagen cited the impact of unionization on its New Jersey-to-Texas distribution chain to justify its selection of Texas as the venue for its lawsuit alleging that the NLRB’s structure violates the US Constitution. The carmaker requested a court order to block the agency’s proceedings against it.

Provided the case stays in the Texas, Volkswagen can take advantage of precedent from the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that virtually guarantees it will win a preliminary injunction against the NLRB.

Employer attempts to challenge the NLRB’s constitutionality in Texas courts have sparked venue disputes. Amazon.com Inc. recently dropped its lawsuit against the agency after it was transferred out of Texas. A SpaceX lawsuit bounced between Texas and California multiple times, although the NLRB eventually abandoned its underlying case against the company that gave rise to the lawsuit.

Volkswagen’s lawsuit stems from the United Auto Worker’s campaign to represent workers at a parts distribution center in Cranbury, N.J.

Although the union lost an election there in April 2025, the NLRB regional office in Newark in March demanded that Volkswagen recognize and negotiate with the UAW to settle an unfair labor practice complaint, according to the lawsuit filed April 17.

The New Jersey plant receives manufactured auto parts from Europe and sends them to the Volkswagen facility in Fort Worth, Texas, the auto manufacturer said. A work stoppage or reduction in production quality due to unionization issues in the New Jersey location would prevent the Fort Worth facility from supplying parts to customers in Texas, “which would ultimately lead to layoffs,” it said.

The company added that it occasionally exchanges employees and shares training between the two locations. The NLRB seeks changes in company policies that “would create confusion and disruption at the Fort Worth” location, the carmaker said.

Volkswagen draws a tenuous connection to support its argument that Texas is a proper venue, said Kevin Arlyck, a law professor at Georgetown University.

Still, the company’s contention that the Fort Worth facility would be directly affected by NLRB-driven changes to policy is a stronger forum argument that the assertion of indirect impacts based on unionization in New Jersey, Arlyck said. Courts have been less receptive to venue claims based on downstream effects, he said.

Volkswagen argued that the removal protections for NLRB members and its administrative law judges are unconstitutional, claims that will likely trigger a preliminary injunction under the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in SpaceX v. NLRB.

The company also alleged that NLRB regional directors are unconstitutionally shielded from removal, and that the board cannot delegate authority to those regional officials.

The NLRB declined to comment. Volkswagen’s lawyer, Frank Davis of Ogletree Deakins, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Volkswagen Grp. of Am., Inc., N.D. Tex., No. 26-00484, complaint filed 4/17/26.