Let’s Look at the Issues

In a vote where workers are deciding whether they want to be represented by a union it is not unusual for employers to interfere. That interference often comes in the form of threats of relocating the business or going out of business altogether, as well as legal maneuvers to stall or call off the vote, and intimidation tactics such as surveillance and even the firing of workers who openly support the union. All of these tactics are illegal, supposedly, and there are legal remedies available to the workers and the unions who are on the receiving end of these maneuvers by management. But while there have been plenty of examples of companies interfering with the right of their employees to have a union represent them, something very different happened in the recent effort by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to represent workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There, the company didn’t interfere with the workers’ effort to unionize. Instead, Republican elected officials did.

The Republicans’ interference in the vote by Volkswagen employees in Tennessee was unprecedented. Indeed, GOP elected officials and some of their allies like Tea Party favorite, Grover Norquist, the head of the terribly misnamed Club for Growth, engaged in tactics that were so intimidating it is not at all surprising that the UAW lost the vote. In fact, the only surprise in the outcome is that the UAW came so close to winning.

It is important to note that in no way did Volkswagen interfere with the NLRB-sponsored vote by the workers at the Chattanooga plant. The company publicly stated that it had no objection whatsoever to the UAW representing the workers and it gave UAW organizers ready access to the plant’s employees. But the outside interference by Tennessee Republicans and Tea Party zealots clearly frightened many of the workers who would have otherwise voted for union representation.

Among the elected officials who publicly urged the Volkswagen employees to reject the UAW were U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Tennessee Governor William Haslam, State House Speaker Beth Harwell, State House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, State Senate Speaker Bo Watson, Chairman of the State Senate Commerce Committee Jack Johnson, and Vice-Chairman of the State Senate Commerce Committee Mark Green. They are all Republicans.

How bad was this outside interference? This bad:

U.S. Senator Bob Corker made numerous comments criticizing the UAW and even flew back to Tennessee from Washington to interfere in the vote. He publicly stated that he had conversations with Volkswagen honchos and they had “assured” him that if the workers voted against the UAW, they would be rewarded with a new product line in Chattanooga. It is clearly illegal to promise a benefit (in this case a new product line) during an NLRB-sponsored vote. It should also be noted that Volkswagen strongly denied Corker’s claims.
Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said, “I encourage the employees of Volkswagen to reject bringing the UAW union into the plant and into our community.”

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Tennessee’s Senate Commerce Committee expressed concern regarding the United Auto Workers (UAW) vote in Chattanooga, saying, “A vote for organized labor would harm Tennessee’s reputation as a business-friendly state and reverse the state’s recent progress in job growth.”

Other Republican lawmakers went so far as to accuse Volkswagen of supporting the union and even threatened that the company would lose state tax incentives if the plant was unionized!
All of these Republicans, as well as some of their allies in the business community, claimed they opposed unionization because union workforces stifle Tennessee’s economy. This claim is almost laughable, because as a “right to work” state Tennessee has one of the lowest percentages of union membership in the country and yet ranks 45th out of the 50 states in per capita earnings. Tennessee is also 45th out of the 50 states in education spending, and ranks just as poorly in the list of states ranked by percentages of families that have health coverage.

These are typical results for right to work states. Lower percentages of union membership translate into lower wages, lower education spending and lower percentages of health coverage.
Tennessee’s dismal record in these areas will certainly not improve with the UAW loss at Volkswagen. But there is one other problem with the outcome of the vote, one which will surprise all those Tennessee Republicans who opposed the UAW. All large German companies like Volkswagen have “co-determination” rules that mandate works councils that connect employees to management. Because of this rule and because of the defeat of the UAW in Chattanooga, the head of Volkswagen’s works council said that the automaker would no doubt hesitate to expand further anywhere in the U.S. South, including Tennessee!