Tennessee Got More Than It Bargained For in Chattanooga

“Would you rather?” is a pretty simple children’s game.

For example, would you rather your best friend skip your party, or come with their annoying friend?

Flashback to 2008: Volkswagen chose Chattanooga, Tennessee to house a new, $1 billion auto plant thanks in part to a $570 million tax incentives package approved by state officials. This package helped fund a Passat sedan production line and created about 2,000 new jobs.

Tennessee officials saw this investment as a great opportunity to boost the economy in Chattanooga, as well as across the region. But unfortunately, they were not the only ones who saw this new plant as an opportunity to flourish.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), wanting to expand into southern manufacturing, saw Volkswagen as their chance.

When the union arrived in the Scenic City, it hoped to become the exclusive bargaining representative at Volkswagen. But after a fierce battle with national and local anti-union forces, the union went down. On Valentine’s Day 2014, the UAW lost a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election 712-626. Yet, over one year later, the union is still spreading propaganda around the plant.

How is this possible?

In November 2014, just months after the UAW lost the NLRB election, Volkswagen Executives announced a new labor policy that grants limited recognition to all “eligible organizations.” The UAW, now cleverly disguised as non-union union “Local 42,” is considered an “eligible organization.” Hello, annoying friend.

Meanwhile, Tennessee lawmakers are currently considering part of an additional $300 million tax incentives package (in addition to the one VW received for opening) which would go towards a $900 million investment to expand production capacity and create about 2,000 new jobs.

While this package sounds great to some, Volkswagen’s decision to ignore the results of a democratic election has left some Tennesseans feeling uneasy about awarding the company millions of hard-earned tax dollars.

While Tennessee officials are weighing the options, Volkswagen Maintenance Specialist Eric Wilson knows exactly how he would vote on the incentives package if he were in the assembly. Wilson, a U.S. army veteran who was recently suspended from work for voicing his opposition to his superiors’ efforts to undermine the NLRB election, wrote letters to Tennessee legislators urging them not to approve the package: 

“I understand there are a lot of jobs on the line. I benefited from the first round. But, I do struggle with the thought of sacrificing a federally recognized democratic vote for money.

The Tennessee Legislature faces a tough decision, but our democracy will do what is right.”

There is no question that Tennessee lawmakers are in a high stakes game of “would you rather?” But Volkswagen executives could easily help them out. If Volkswagen respected the 2014 NLRB election, lawmakers would not have to feel conflicted about approving public money.

But unfortunately, the German automobile company would rather accommodate the union, even at the expense of Tennesseans who are working to accommodate Volkswagen.

Had Tennessee officials known that Volkswagen was going to bring along the freeloading UAW, would they have ever invited it to their party in the first place?