UAW loses organization drive at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga , Tennessee ..... Key takeaway -- The UAW is almost certain to challenge the vote with the National Labor Relations Board because of potentially influencing comments made by Republican lawmakers and anti-union groups in recent days. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) suggested that Volkswagen would reward Tennessee by bringing production of a new car to the factory if voters rejected forming a union. The automaker denied the claim. About 165 workers, or 11%, didn't vote.......... Volkswagen said it stayed neutral through the process, even welcoming UAW representatives to speak to employees inside the factory. "Whatever the result, workers and Volkswagen should feel proud of how they conducted themselves," the UAW said on Twitter as votes were being counted Friday night. The union also said the "outside interference was an outrage."

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/02/15/tennessee-vw-workers-reject-unionization-bid-by-uaw/

Tennessee VW workers REJECT unionization bid by UAW

POSTED AT 8:31 AM ON FEBRUARY 15, 2014 BY JAZZ SHAW

  

People around Chattanooga, Tennessee have been on pins and needles this past week, awaiting the results of a vote by workers at the Volkswagen manufacturing plant in their area deciding whether or not they would invite United Auto Workers into their town to organize workers. The wait is over, and the workers have told the giant auto workers ‘ union to pack sand.

Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee have voted against union representation in a devastating defeat for the United Auto Workers union’s effort to make inroads in the South.

The 712-626 vote released late Friday was surprising for many labor experts and union supporters who expected a UAW win because Volkswagen tacitly endorsed the union and even allowed organizers into the Chattanooga factory to make sales pitches.

“This is like an alternate universe where everything is turned upside down,” Cliff Hammond, a labor lawyer at in Detroit, told The Wall Street Journal, noting that companies usually fight union drives.

That’s actually a fairly disingenuous reading of VW’s position. As it happens, I was right in Chattanooga for the past couple of weeks working on an unrelated project and was able to speak with a number of people on both sides of the issue, as well as follow all of the local coverage. VW never seemed to be in favor of the UAW. They simply wanted to provide the employees with some form of works council, similar to what they normally have in Europe, allowing them effective lines of communication with the management. Whether that was a locally organized structure or through the auspices of a union didn’t seem to much matter.

But the workers themselves and all of their neighbors were not short on opinions. One of the big questions seemed to be exactly what it would cost them to invite the UAW into their plant and what they would get in return. As this recent editorial in the local paper reflected, many of the workers had a clue as to where their dues money would be going.

First and foremost, the UAW enters the room. With it, VW employees who choose to join will dole out two and a half hours of pay per month for what the union says is a — wink, wink, nudge, nudge — strike fund. But the UAW would never strike the nice plant that allowed it a foothold in the South, right?

Where, in fact, does the UAW in general, among other places, put its money? In the 2013-14 campaign cycle so far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, it has given $71,901 to Democrat candidates and zero, zip, nada to Republican candidates.

In the 2012 cycle, it gave $1,427,731 to Democrat candidates and $45,053 in efforts against Republican candidates. Republican candidates, meanwhile, got nothing.

VW workers, that would be your money.

Contrary to national popular opinion, the locals are still not big fans of Democrats – or politicians in general, from what I saw – and flushing part of their paychecks into a political machine rather than ensuring the security of their families was not a popular option. Still, the expensive campaign by the union swayed many of the workers into voting for the proposal… but not enough. Meanwhile, VW seemed to handle the entire affair with class.

Sebastian Patta, vice president for human resources, said, “While there was intense outside interest in this election, our managers and employees inside the plant maintained high quality production and continued to work together in a calm and respectful manner.”

“Our commitment to Tennessee is a long-term investment. We look forward to continuing to work with the state of Tennessee and the city of Chattanooga to support job creation, growth, and economic development today and into the future,” Fischer added.

Less reported in the course of this debate was the potential expansion of the plant and how Tennessee would handle it. VW has been looking to add yet another production line in Chattanooga for sports utility vehicles. This would generate even more jobs, both directly and indirectly. When the company first moved into the area, the state put together a generous package of incentives to help them get off the ground. There was already talk of a smaller, secondary package to get the new line started, but local politicians were saying that if the union came in and began kneecapping VW, such a package would have less of a chance of being passed.

In addition to that, people I spoke with also questioned why they needed such big gun protection “against” VW in the first place. Working conditions at the plant were described as very safe, the pay there was some of the best in the area and the benefits plan offered by the automaker is generous. Why start poking a stick in their eye?

Chattanooga has undergone a serious rebirth over the past couple of decades. Once a declining area with crumbling infrastructure, a lot of work and smart investment has turned the city into a tourist destination while simultaneously seeing several major employers – including Amazon, in addition to VW – opening up shop and bringing jobs to the low tax, high worker availability area. With the rejection of the UAW, residents seem hopeful that this trend will continue.

All of this may come as a surprise to President Obama, who was sure he was on the right side of history on this one.

President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers…

Obama said everyone was in favor of the UAW representing Volkswagen except for local politicians who “are more concerned about German shareholders than American workers,” according to a Democratic aide who attended the meeting with Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

How wrong can you be? The reason that position turned out to be such a bust for the President is an important one. After fierce debate, the workers were allowed to cast secret ballots in this vote, eliminating the union intimidation tactics which many feared. When they were left free to make their choice without worrying about repercussions, the workers chose to represent themselves locally and not invite the UAW to come in and begin killing the goose which has thus far been laying golden eggs.

Tennessee Volkswagen workers reject union

February 14, 2014 10:11PM ET Updated 10:42PM ET

Factory workers voted 712 to 626 to prevent the United Auto Workers from representing them

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Workers at Volkswagen’s three-year-old factory in Chattanooga, Tenn. have voted not to be represented by the United Auto Workers union. 

Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Workers at Volkswagen’s three-year-old factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted Friday to reject union representation by the United Auto Workers (UAW), frustrating an effort to revive the waning influence of the labor movement in the South. 

The vote tally concluded with 712 voting no, and 626 voting yes.

The UAW's bid to represent VW's 1,550 hourly workers faced fierce resistance from local politicians and national conservative groups.

The defeat could scuttle the 400,000-member union's latest attempt to stem a decades-long decline in membership, revenue and influence. It could reinforce the widely held notion that the UAW is unable to overcome the South's deep opposition toward organized labor.

On Wednesday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., escalated what has been a seesaw battle between union and anti-union forces, saying he had been "assured" that if workers at the factory reject the UAW, the company would reward the plant with a new product to build.

After the vote tally was announced Friday, the UAW tweeted: "vote loses but the workers and the company both handled the process well. Outside interference was an outrage, however."

Volkswagen CEO Frank Fischer, in a statement, thanked employees for their participation in the three-day vote.

“Our employees have not made a decision that they are against a works council," Fischer said. 

“Our goal continues to be to determine the best method for establishing a works council in accordance with the requirements of U.S. labor law to meet VW America's production needs and serve our employees’ interests,” he added.

Opinions among employees before the conclusion of the vote were mixed. On Wednesday, several employees spoke to Al Jazeera about the process.

John Wright said he supported the move to unionize at the VW plant because he feels he has no voice in key decisions made by management.

"The works council here locally would help us have more communication, more open communication, with management for improving anything on the lines or anything that employees may discern is important to them," he said.

But another employee, Mike Jarvis, voiced his opposition to the union.

"I feel in my heart they are ramming this down my throat," said Jarvis, who works in the plant’s body shop. Jarvis told Al Jazeera he thought the UAW was making too many promises, and he was fearful that a decision to unionize could lead to pay decreases and additional work hours.

"They’re telling them they’re going to give them $28 an hour,” he said. “Me personally, I’ve been there three years now and I’m making more money than that. So I’m going to take a cut in pay, all these other people are going to take a cut in pay. But they’re being told they are going to make more money."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101419701

Volkswagen workers reject UAW in huge blow to union

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 Published: Saturday, 15 Feb 2014 | 5:30 AM ET

By: Philip LeBeau | CNBC Auto and Airline Industry Reporter

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After three days of voting by hourly wage workers at the Volkswagen final assembly plants in Chattanooga, Tennessee, employees at the plant elected on Friday not to join the union.

The final tally was 726 workers voting no while 612 voted yes, with 89 percent of the eligible workers casting ballots.

Photographer | Collection | Getty Images

"While we certainly would have liked a victory for workers here, we deeply respect the Volkswagen Global Group Works Council, Volkswagen management and 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," said UAW President Bob King in a statement released after the vote.

The rejection is a major blow to the UAW which has never organized a foreign-brand auto plant operating in the U.S.

A yes vote would have also given the UAW representation of a final assembly plant in the southern U.S. where foreign automakers have set up facilities in right to work states.

"They (workers) have spoken, and Volkswagen will respect the decision of the majority," said Frank Fischer, CEO and Chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga.

Blaming outside influence

During three days of voting, the UAW repeatedly complained of outsiders trying to influence and intimidate VW workers into voting against joining the union.

One specific complaint involves Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, a Republican, and vocal critic of the UAW.

During the vote, Corker said he had been told by people close to Volkswagen that the German automaker would not bring production of a new vehicle to Chattanooga if workers rejected the union offer.

Despite Volkswagen executives denying future product plans would be tied to the union vote, many wonder if Corker's claim spooked workers into voting no.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-volkswagen-uaw-vote-20140214,0,1974254.story#axzz2tOtrdw1D

Volkswagen workers reject union at Chattanooga plant, a blow to UAW

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An employee works on a Passat sedan at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. Workers at the plant voted against representation by the United Auto Workers union. (Erik Schelzig / Associated Press / February 13, 2014

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• By Paresh Dave

February 14, 2014, 8:00 p.m.

Volkswagen workers in Tennessee narrowly voted to reject joining a union, crushing the United Automobile Workers union's attempt to unionize a foreign-owned car factory for the first time, officials announced late Friday.

The 712-626 vote (53%-47%) against unionization at the German automaker’s three-year-old factory in Chattanooga is a setback for UAW because labor experts had thought Volkswagen gave the union its best shot of setting a precedent to make inroads with transplants such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Nissan.

"It would have been a confidence booster, a relevance factor and message saying that we’re growing and doing things people didn’t think we could," said Art Wheaton, director of The Worker Institute at Cornell University.

The UAW is almost certain to challenge the vote with the National Labor Relations Board because of potentially influencing comments made by Republican lawmakers and anti-union groups in recent days. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) suggested that Volkswagen would reward Tennessee by bringing production of a new car to the factory if voters rejected forming a union. The automaker denied the claim. About 165 workers, or 11%, didn't vote.

Volkswagen said it stayed neutral through the process, even welcoming UAW representatives to speak to employees inside the factory.

"Whatever the result, workers and Volkswagen should feel proud of how they conducted themselves," the UAW said on Twitter as votes were being counted Friday night.

The union also said the "outside interference was an outrage."

Like many European automakers, Volkswagen has long worked with unions at home through a system known as works councils.

Workers at each factory elect a works council to make decisions with bosses over local issues, such as work schedules, while the larger national union negotiates pay and other major bargaining points. It was expected that the two-part system would take hold in Chattanooga, the only notable Volkswagen plant that didn’t have a works council. And in the U.S., labor law experts said a works council couldn't be created without a union representing the workers as well.

Wheaton compared the system to the U.S. Senate.

"Chattanooga doesn't get a senator unless they have a union," he said. "With a union, they are given a voice in the Senate to say, 'Bring that product to Chattanooga.'"

The automaker said it would not stop trying to bring works councils to the U.S.

"Our employees have not made a decision that they are against a works council," the company's local chief exeutive, Frank Fischer, said. "Throughout this process, we found great enthusiasm for the idea of an American-style works council both inside and outside our plant."

German and Japanese automakers opened shop in the South four decades ago, taking over cornfields and deliberately avoiding areas where unionization might be desired. As they cut into the profits of unionized Detroit automakers such as Ford and General Motors, the UAW's membership plummeted from 1.5 million to 380,000 as of 2013.

To grasp back what it's lost, the UAW has tried to soften its image to appeal to German, Japanese and South Korean automakers with U.S. plants.

Bringing in a works council would have sent a signal to the other automakers that the UAW is prepared to be more cooperative and less adversarial, labor relations experts said.

"This was going to help reduce some of the demonetization of the unions," Wheaton said. "You'll have workers elsewhere saying, 'Volkswagen doesn't see them as a huge problem, maybe we can do something like that.'"

The vote could bring discomfort to IG Metall, the union that represents Volkswagen workers in Germany.

"Work is being outsourced to a cheaper, non-union site and unions throughout the world would be upset with that," Wheaton said.

Tennessee saw union membership grow more than any other state in 2013, rising 25% to include 155,000 of its 2.5 million workers. The numbers were boosted by a new General Motors plant and the rebounding construction industry.