Labor Watch
The Germans are Coming!
...and the UAW is organizing in Tennessee and throughout the South
(PDF here)
The United Auto Workers has seen membership decline dramatically in its Midwest stronghold. Now it is desperate to unionize new plants in the South built by foreign companies. Unfortunately, under pressure from a powerful union in Germany, Volkswagen may be colluding with the UAW to force membership on workers in Chattanooga who have no desire to jeopardize the success of their plant.
Membership in the United Auto Workers (UAW) has declined dramatically these past few decades—by three-fourths since 1979. But union officials may have found a way to recapture the glory days by teaming up with the Germans.
This incipient partnership has been made possible by a combination of the UAW’s hardball organizing efforts in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and by labor law in Germany and the U.S. At stake are thousands of auto industry jobs in Chattanooga and elsewhere.
Read the entire article here.
