CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — The UAW suffered a
devastating defeat at Volkswagen’s plant here as workers rejected union
representation by a 712-626 margin.
The defeat, which came
despite Volkswagen’s neutrality, tarnishes UAW President Bob King’s legacy and
could make it next to impossible for the union to extend its reach beyond
domestic automakers.
“While we certainly would
have liked a victory for workers here, we deeply respect the Volkswagen Global
Group Works Council, Volkswagen management and (German union) IG Metall for
doing their best to create a free and open atmosphere for workers to exercise
their basic human right to form a union,” King said in a statement.
Frank Fischer, CEO of
Volkswagen Chattanooga, thanked the workers for participating.
“They have spoken, and
Volkswagen will respect the decision of the majority,” said Fischer in a
statement.
Of about 1,500 Volkswagen
workers eligible to vote, 89% cast ballots between Wednesday and Friday night.
“We think it was unfortunate
that there was outside influence,” said Gary Casteel, UAW regional director who
led the unsuccessful campaign. “I want to urge the VW employees to go back to
the business of building cars. There are some issues to be sorted out.”
Workers told the Free Press
they were puzzled by the intensity of media attention and bitter political
volleying surrounding the vote.
Even President Barack Obama
weighed in Friday, taking aim at Tennessee Republican leaders, including U.S.
Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam, who he said “are more concerned about
German shareholders than American workers.”
But the result was a victory
for Corker and Haslam, who urged Volkswagen workers to reject the UAW. One
leader of the Republican-controlled Tennessee state Senate threatened this week
to block any incentives for future Volkswagen investment in Chattanooga if a
majority of workers voted for the union.
“Needless to say, I am
thrilled for the employees at Volkswagen and for our community and its future,”
Corker said in a statement.
Unlike previous failed UAW
campaigns at Nissan and Honda plants, Volkswagen did not resist the union here.
“Volkswagen has been really
good about it,” said Craig Snyder, 42, of Chattanooga. “They just want people
to vote the way they feel.”
Volkswagen has said it favors
the creation of a German-style “works council,” which gives workers a voice on
a variety of product and other decisions. Under U.S. law, a union must
represent employees for a company to form a works council.
But Snyder voted against the
UAW because, he said, Volkswagen is the best employer he’s ever worked for.
“How is somebody here really
supposed to know what a works council is going to be like?” Snyder said. “You
can have somebody tell you one thing and somebody tell you another thing.
Nobody really knows.”
His coworker, 21-year-old
Michael Taylor of suburban Hixson, also voted no.
“I just didn’t feel like we
needed an outside group coming in to represent us,” Taylor said.
Eddie Reel said he voted for
UAW representation because having a seat on Volkswagen’s global works council
would give workers a stronger voice on where future models are produced.
For example, Volkswagen wants
to launch a new midsize SUV for sale in the U.S. by 2016. The most likely
assembly plants for it are Chattanooga and Puebla, Mexico.
Lauren Feinauer, 37, has been
one of the UAW’s strongest advocates in the plant.
“VW has shown that they can
have a great relationship with unions. They do it all over the world,” Feinauer
said.
Edward Hunter, 43, of
Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., said Tennessee politicians argued that the UAW caused the
downfall of Detroit, and some of his coworkers bought it.
One billboard, paid for by
Grover Norquist, a Washington, D.C.-based anti-tax lobbyist, reads “Detroit:
Brought to you by the UAW” next to an image of the long-abandoned Packard Plant
ruins. Another billboard shows a graffiti artist’s red “X” over the word “Auto”
in the union’s title replaced with a crudely lettered “Obama.”
Source: Detroit
Free Press | freep.com
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