After Republican Threats, Tennessee Auto Workers Reject Union
After Republicans warned auto workers that unionization would lead to Volkswagen and other car manufacturers to leave Tennessee, workers at the VW plant in Chattanooga voted 712-626 to stay out of the United Automobile Workers Union.
Volkswagon actually offered some support for the UAW in its effort, which deepened the blow to UAW.
Union officials praised Volkswagon but blamed politicians who had warned workers that by joining they union, they could hurt their own economic interests.
“We commend Volkswagen for its commitment to global human rights, to worker rights and trying to provide an atmosphere of freedom to make a decision,” UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel, who directs the union’s Southern organizing, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that that would grow jobs in Tennessee.”
