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For the second time in five years, workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have rejected United Auto Workers' bid, which is a blow to the union's efforts to set up auto factories in America.
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The Tennessean reports that VW employees voted between 833 and 776 to reject unionization. About 1,700 full-time workers were eligible to vote. The factory currently produces the Passat and the Atlas.
In the United States, non-union car plant workers are paid less than their union counterparts. Yet, the UAW has repeatedly failed to unionize Southern factories owned by Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and others. In 2014, workers at the same VW factory also rejected an offer of unionization.
This last trade union struggle at VW, like the last one, had become incredibly political and full of anti-trade union groups backed by the companies. Republican state leaders strongly opposed the UAW and urged the workers that unionization could threaten the plant's employment and future, as well as new investments in Tennessee in general. Republican Governor Bill Lee even went to the factory and talked about his objections to the workers. US Senator Marsha Blackburn also spoke out against unionism.
From the New York Times:
Wilma Liebman, president of the National Labor Relations Council under President Barack Obama, said she had never heard of the direct appearance of a governor to the workers to urge them to vote against union representation. Mr. Lee's office did not respond to requests for comment.
State representative Robin Smith, a Republican whose district includes the plant, said the decision to unionize could threaten tens of millions of dollars in future investment by the state.
"It's much easier to defend the incentives, the use of taxpayers' money, when investing in the respect of our state's philosophy," Smith said in an interview.
At the same time, it is undeniable that the UAW has performed incredibly badly in recent years because of the high-profile corruption scandals that led former leaders to prison. And that is something that definitely seems to weigh on at least some of the workers who took part in the vote. (And as reported on the Notes Labor site, the UAW also made a lot of other organizational errors.)
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Via Automotive News:
Keri Menendez, 44, opposed to the UAW, told Reuters that her problem was not related to the unions but to the UAW, which fought against a broad federal investigation about corruption over the past two years in Detroit. "Corruption is a problem for the UAW," said Menendez, a team leader on the $ 23.50 winning line at the hour. "They are more interested in their own company than in the concern of the people."
The results must still be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, according to Volkswagen. But for now, this is another unfortunate setback for work in the United States, although I wonder if any of the UAW leaders embroiled in embezzlement in recent years really interests the workers or not.
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