Volkswagen isn't opposed to a union, but Republicans are threatening jobs

[snapthis]

 
 
The side with the affluent families and better education probably view working at Volkswagen with a certain stigma. That may be why Volkswagen can not fill jobs that require higher education with Chattanooga residents. 
 
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jun/09/millennial-magnet/
 

 
A good education opens more doors, gives you more choices in life. Some people prefer to work in trades, work with their hands. I decided I did not want to sit under fluorescent lights in an office.
 
Both of my parents were executives who sat on the opposite side of
the table from unions and served on various BOD's. My father hated unions, looked at the leaders as thugs so when I became an ALPA member over 20 years ago it was not viewed as a badge of honor. I saw the necessisty of unions in aviation and defended my position in some lively conversations. We got to a point to where we would not discuss anything union anymore. I find myself in a position where I agree with him in many areas having dealt  with a union which uses it's power against the members it claims to represent.
 
A company is not an employment agency, it's a business. If it doesn't have the pay or
work rules that you desire apply somewhere else. Workers at VW were given a choice to unionize or not and they spoke.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I agree with you. What I disagree with is that Senator Bob Corker decided to threaten the jobs of the workers if they voted for a union.

 

[700UW]

Volkswagen's works council said it would press on with efforts to set up labor representation at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, undeterred by a workers' vote against any such step involving the United Auto Workers union (UAW)
 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/16/us-vw-chattanooga-idUSBREA1F0A920140216

 

[southwind]

I agree with you. What I disagree with is that Senator Bob Corker decided to threaten the jobs of the workers if they voted for a union.

And again, just how did Corker threaten jobs if the people who voted yea, for union representation were anti corporate welfare to begin with?

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Basically he said that he is for incentives to bring business into this country so long as it does not go to a union workforce. So much for his free market thinking.

"--Volkswagen's in favor.
--Tennessee Republicans, including Gov. Bill Haslam and Sen. Bob Corker, have been threatening the company with retribution if the vote succeeds.
Reading the remarks of the state's GOP politicians is like a trip through cloud-cuckoo-land. Here's a statement sent to the Detroit Free Press by State Sen. Bo Watson of Chattanooga: "Volkswagen has promoted a campaign that has been unfair, unbalanced and, quite frankly, un-American in the traditions of American labor campaigns .... Should the workers choose to be represented by the United Auto Workers, then I believe additional incentives for expansion will have a very tough time passing the Tennessee Senate."
Apparently the "American" style of labor campaign is one in which the employer moves heaven and earth to intimidate workers and suppress their legal right to collective bargaining, not one in which the employer sees concrete benefits in a union presence on the factory floor.
The Republicans appear to be afraid that the UAW vote will eat into Tennessee's hard-earned as a right-to-work (read: anti-union) state. A UAW victory at Volkswagen, moreover, would be its first at a foreign-owned auto plant in the country. The politicians have expressed fears that other manufacturing companies will shun Tennessee if the UAW cracks open the door.
By far the most cynical expression of this view came from Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor, at a press conference on the eve of the vote. "We know these discussions are having a dampening effect on our economic growth," he said, "and we're concerned that if they actually come in and win this election -- then obviously it's going to be something we can overcome -- we will overcome --"
Stop right there. "We will overcome"?
The most shocking thing about this is that the shade of Pete Seeger, so recently laid to rest, didn't instantly rise from the grave at this perversion of his protest song and deliver a lightning bolt directly at the place where Corker so smugly sat. Video of the remarks by Corker, who also said (if you can fathom the presumptuousness) "the whole world is watching," is online."


http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-tennessee-union-drive-20140212,0,1883327.story#ixzz2tbdWHfRw

 

[whatkindoffreshhell]

Basically he said that he is for incentives to bring business into this country so long as it does not go to a union workforce. So much for his free market thinking.

The Republicans appear to be afraid that the UAW vote will eat into Tennessee's hard-earned as a right-to-work (read: anti-union) state. 
 
Hey Glenn, Michigan is also a right-to-work state, does that mean they too are anti-union?
 
Also I believe union-paid pickets also attempt to intimidate folks into buying union-only.  So much for the free market thinkers over at UAW HQ.
 
During the campaign leading up to this vote, the UAW was chastising Corker for his silence on the subject.  So he responded.  
 
Free-speech.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

I agree with you. What I disagree with is that Senator Bob Corker decided to threaten the jobs of the workers if they voted for a union.

 

And again, just how did Corker threaten jobs if the people who voted yea, for union representation were anti corporate welfare to begin with?

The problem is you are both right.

 

[700UW]

You do realize Freedom of Speech only applies to the government restricting your speech, a company can and will restrict your speech.
 
And you you tell fire in a crowded movie theater?

 

[Kev3188]

Once again, most union supporters here are against corporate welfare, so if that holds true concerning workers at the VW plant, the Senators remarks would have no bearing on the vote........................right 700?

 
Fear of Loss is an amazingly effective strategy...
 

Then you have this.
 
"Almost every time I ask people why they moved here they say for a job," Davis said. "We're drawing people to the area for jobs. And that's to be expected, because places like Volkswagen and Wacker can't fill all their jobs with native Chattanoogans."
 
I realize at first this seems to conflict with the statement above that there are few employment opportunities in Chattanooga. They may be referring to jobs they cannot fill with HS diploma and GED level employees. These are probably technical or engineering level jobs. That is only a guess of course.
 
But the number of businesses started annually in Chattanooga has been rising steadily during the last five years, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. And that's another factor that's starting to tug young people to Chattanooga. With a handful of business incubators and a smaller market, the city has built a fledgling reputation for being entrepreneur-friendly.
 
I believe this is the real reason the senator threatened the employees of Volkswagen. He wants to promote his city as "business friendly". A high profile UNION takeover could impact the cities growth rate. He sees the UAW as a threat to future tax revenue.
 
Beyond crime, another major challenge for the region will be providing high-quality elementary and high school education, Sudderth said. Chattanooga's school system is divided by a grand canyon -- with poverty-ridden, poorly performing schools on one side and affluent, high-performing schools on another.
 
Guess which side Volkswagen employs?
 
The side with the affluent families and better education probably view working at Volkswagen with a certain stigma. That may be why Volkswagen can not fill jobs that require higher education with Chattanooga residents. 
 
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jun/09/millennial-magnet/

It's sorta like BMW in SC; they didn't have the skilled workforce to draw from locally. BMW set up a school.

The other thing CHA has is the fastest internet in the country. That alone has spawned a LOT of business (the nod to "incubators" you mentioned), and is spurring a lot of the business development there.
 
 

I agree with you. What I disagree with is that Senator Bob Corker decided to threaten the jobs of the workers if they voted for a union.

+1

 

[southwind]

1. Your either Pro-union/ anti-corporate welfare or
 
2. Anti-union/ pro-corporate welfare !
 
So don't cry about a statement made by some senator....the people who wanted a union were anti-corporate welfare, to begin with and the people who didn't want a union but wanted the company they worked for, to be able to stand in line, with their hand out would have voted no anyways...........again , the chips fell where they did and some people still can't grasp the fact a lot of people do not want a union, in this country!
 
Of course there are anti-union/ anti-corporate welfare!

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

1. Your either Pro-union/ anti-corporate welfare or
 
2. Anti-union/ pro-corporate welfare !
 
So don't cry about a statement made by some senator...

Answer your question, No you are not.

And there is no crying about a Senator making a statement. That statement was most definitely unethical, and could be a violation of laws that apply to sitting politicians.

Corker had major sway in this election since he was the former mayor of Chattanooga.

Why could he not keep his mouth shut? What motivation did he have to interject himself in that vote?

As to your corporate welfare question, most people, union and non union, would prefer to have their tax dollars spent on infrastructure rather than rewarding companies with zero tax incentives. However, if they are going to give out corporate welfare, do you think it should go strictly to companies that are non union?

 

[eolesen]

I have to laugh when I see all the hand-wringing over the vote failing because of something a politician said. There's always someone else to blame when a representation vote fails -- someone *must* have interfered... what rational person wouldn't want what the UAW has done for its membership over the past 20 years?....

If it's like any other representation election, most people's minds were made up weeks ago.

He didn't say "VW will close the plant or cut back on production" if the union was voted in. **That** would be threatening jobs. Instead, he made a vague promise of increased production if the vote went the other way, and didn't say who told him that. For all anyone knows, it came anti-union organizers, not the company. It's probably a safe assumption, since production is picking up in general, and the work would have to go somewhere.

Regardless, I suspect most people tend to write off any promise made by a politician anymore.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I actually agree with you E.

I just wonder why Corker would even interject in the vote?

The hand wringing would have been far less.

 

[delldude]

Answer your question, No you are not.

And there is no crying about a Senator making a statement. That statement was most definitely unethical, and could be a violation of laws that apply to sitting politicians.

Corker had major sway in this election since he was the former mayor of Chattanooga.

Why could he not keep his mouth shut? What motivation did he have to interject himself in that vote?

As to your corporate welfare question, most people, union and non union, would prefer to have their tax dollars spent on infrastructure rather than rewarding companies with zero tax incentives. However, if they are going to give out corporate welfare, do you think it should go strictly to companies that are non union?

 
You mean like 'the police acted stupidly'?

 

[eolesen]

I just wonder why Corker would even interject in the vote?

If anyone's surprised by his opinion, they're either an idiot or they haven't been paying very close attention.

He's been vocal about the plant rejecting a union since it opened. He lives in the area, and spent a lot of time and effort attracting them to the area. He doesn't want to see his home town go the way of Janesville, WI or any number of other small cities in the northern states who used to have a thriving local economy thanks to an auto manufacturing plant, and then lost it when the costs of that plant got out of control compared to production somewhere else.