Dems (Federal Level) pursuing a hearing on Corker and others involvement. Remember, VW didn't want a union. They want a works council similar to theirs in Germany. UAW had signed a unique agreement with the plant regarding their role, which made it more similar to the works council. If that's the case I think the UAW did the right thing. The NLRB rules for this aren't very helpful and VW was holding up the expansion until something could get worked out. The UAW's reputation may have been so tarnished by it that workers in the South would have never welcomed them.
The company issued a statement Monday welcoming the UAW decision as "an important gesture for a constructive dialogue in Chattanooga." Volkswagen said it will continue to pursue its efforts to establish "a new, innovative form of co-determination in the USA."
From UAW Regional Director Gary Casteel:
"Now they need to step up and do what's right for VW and those workers over there, get the incentives without any strings attached, and let VW concentrate on making cars and implementing their philosophy and culture that they use globally into that plant in Chattanooga," he said.
From the Guardian article:
At the same time Democrats on the US House committee on education and the workforce opened an inquiry into the incentives package.
“The unprecedented political interference by governor Haslam, senator Corker and others was a distraction for Volkswagen employees and a detour from achieving Tennessee’s economic priorities,” King said. “The UAW is ready to put February’s tainted election in the rearview mirror and instead focus on advocating for new jobs and economic investment in Chattanooga.”
House committee members George Miller of California and John Tierney of Massachusetts sent a letter to Haslam last week asking for documents relating to the incentives package.
“Our request is part of an inquiry to understand the extent to which the activities of Tennessee state officials may have undermined, or attempted to undermine, federal rights guaranteed to workers in Chattanooga,” the letter said.
King said the UAW would ask the congressional inquiry to examine the use of federal funds in the state’s alleged incentives threat. “Frankly, Congress is a more effective venue for publicly examining the now well-documented threat,” King said.
Sounds like somewhat of a deal between UAW and VW to work on a works council type union and Congress to deal with Corker et ux through hearings.
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