It’s impossible not to notice it in the austere hallways of the historic Volkswagen factory: Daniela Cavallo likes to wear high heels. As the world As she observed during a meeting in the summer of 2022, the Volkswagen (VW) union boss voluntarily gains 12 centimeters by cultivating a style more inspired by her Italian roots than in the city center of Wolfsburg (Lower Saxony), the manufacturer. factory city
His parents, originally from Calabria in southern Italy, moved there in the 1960s, when the factory was the beating heart of the city. “economic miracle” German. Incarnation of Volkswagen’s integrative myth, Daniela Cavallo has climbed positions without losing any of her Italian identity. She was the first woman to assume, in 2022, the head of the works council, called Betriebsratthe most powerful worker representation body in the country.
On September 4, in front of journalists gathered at the gates of the Wolfsburg factory, Mr.me Cavallo had changed her heels for white sneakers. Another style, another message: they are more or less the same ones generally shown by the leader of the group that became his main adversary, Oliver Blume. There is no doubt that the union leader will lose her balance in what promises to be the confrontation of her life.
“A broken taboo”
For the first time in eighty-seven years, the group’s management plans to close at least one of its factories on the other side of the Rhine. An employment protection agreement in force for thirty years is lifted. Daniela Cavallo talks about“a broken taboo” and violation of “basic principles” from VW. she promised “fierce resistance”.
All observers agree: Daniela Cavallo knows how to fight. Just a few months after assuming her role as chief negotiator, she received the go-ahead from then-CEO Herbert Diess. The brusque boss, more attentive to his image on social networks than to his reputation in the company, had increased the provocations against the Betriebsrat. METROme Cavallo ended up convincing the supervisory board, in particular the Porsche-Piëch clan, which owns half of VW’s voting shares, to terminate his contract.
In Worldgreeted the arrival of Mr. Blume at the head of the group, appreciated for his style. “more collective”. “For me, leading means setting clear objectives, knowing how to communicate them collectively, to involve all levels of the company”he explained. Unlike his predecessor at BMW, the new boss was perfectly familiar with the practices and customs in force in Wolfsburg, where nothing is decided without the agreement of the Betriebsrat.
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