Senator Corker: Free ice cream for life if you vote against forming union *UPDATE VW RESPONSE*

[Capt. Obvious]

Last edited Thu Feb 13, 2014, 11:15 AM - Edit history (1)

U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on Wednesday he has been "assured" that if workers at the Volkswagen AG plant in his hometown of Chattanooga reject United Auto Worker representation, the company will reward the plant with a new product to build.

Corker's bombshell, which runs counter to public statements by Volkswagen, was dropped on the first of a three-day secret ballot election of blue-collar workers at the Chattanooga plant whether to allow the UAW to represent them.

....

In the past few weeks, Volkswagen officials have made several statements that the vote will have no bearing on whether the SUV will be made at the Chattanooga plant or at a plant in Puebla, Mexico.

National Labor Relations Board expert Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, who is professor of labor at the University of Indiana-Bloomington, said Corker was trying to intimidate workers into voting against the union.

How is this legal?

[okaawhatever]

1. OMFG....In what world is this okay? nt

[Capt. Obvious]

4. As noted

they can bring it before the NLRB to revote due to Corker's intimidation.

[okaawhatever]

8. I think that's Corker's plan. Either that or he knows they're already planning on building the

second product there, and he only claimed that they would build the second product if they don't unionize. He didn't say they WOULDN'T build the second product there if they DID unionize. I think the plant in Mexico has a work counsel.

[Historic NY]

2. Corkers attempt to bust union........

he'd really look like an ass if the packed up the plant.

[RKP5637]

3. This, is so F'en stupid and outrageous. I can't believe people like Corker get elected and

then it's concerning that some people might be stupid enough to listen to him.

[Snotcicles]

5. Ain't that illegal under NLRB? nt

[Capt. Obvious]

7. Yes

[TheMathieu]

6. Ugh.

They don't even try to conceal it anymore.

[Starry Messenger]

9. It's sad that I actually believed ice cream was involved in this.

That's how bad labor relations are in the US.

[Capt. Obvious]

10. But there is ice cream

Unfortunately, it's rum raisin.

[freshwest]

18. Some would sell their souls for dessert. But not this time! n/t

[Romulox]

11. Corker was popular as hell when he was bashing Detroit a few years back. Tenn. deserves him. nt

[Fearless]

12. Form a union and you can AFFORD TO BUY your own damn ice cream

And not depend on the kindness of charity.

[Capt. Obvious]

13. UPDATE: Union vote has nothing to do with adding vehicle line: Volkswagen

German automaker Volkswagen AG, in a brief but bluntly worded statement Thursday, said a vote this week on union representation at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant would have no bearing on whether it will build a new crossover vehicle there.

The statement was contrary to U.S. Senator Bob Corker's announcement yesterday that he had been "assured" that if workers at the factory reject United Auto Worker representation, the company would reward the plant with a new product to build.

"There is no connection between our Chattanooga employees' decision about whether to be represented by a union and the decision about where to build a new product for the U.S. market," said Frank Fischer, chairman and chief executive officer of Volkswagen Chattanooga.

Corker, a Republican senator from Tennessee, made the assertion, which ran counter to previous public statements by VW, on the first of a three-day secret ballot election of blue-collar workers on UAW representation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/us-autos-vw-tennessee-idUSBREA1C10Y20140213

[AtheistCrusader]

14. And VW WANTS them to make it a union shop.

It's actually a win-win.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/02/11/volkswagen-uaw-cooperation-vote/5404223/

So much for the small government republicans staying out of private/economic matters, eh?

[okaawhatever]

25. VW wants a words council. The only way to do that is to have a union represent them. I'm not

union bashing, what I'm saying is that Germany has a 21st Century approach to unions and I think UAW is going to help them develop that here. I think one of the reasons newer ad better union laws haven't been passed is because the Republicans wanted to not let unions evolve so they would die out.

In the past it was always labor and capital with labor having little or no say in matters other than pay, hours, etc. With words councils the council members are all involved in cost saving measures, strategy, etc. I think that is one of the reasons this vote is so significant. People are claiming it's about having a union car maker in the South, I think it's about opening the door for a 21st Century union drive.

[spanone]

15. my state is a constant embarrassment.

[DallasNE]

16. Corker Is Not A Spokesman For VW

Such an announcement should come from VW or a designated surrogate so what gives with Corker injecting himself in this manner. It is sleazy at best.

[Capt. Obvious]

17. It should have come from no one

It's intimidation.

[freshwest]

19. I OBJECT! There is no ice cream in this OP or the link! Deceptive thread practices are illegal!

At least THAT looks like a Volkswagen!

[1000words]

21. Fudge-vergnügen!

[Capt. Obvious]

22. Heh

It does look like a VW

[frwrfpos]

20. Corker is not much above pond scum in terms of lifeforms

How this asshole gets elected is beyond my comprehension.

[Le Taz Hot]

23. Well, it is Tennessee.

The state that didn't vote for it's hometown son for president. They liked Bush better. Apparently, they like this guy a whole lot as well.

[freshwest]

24. Capt. Obvious, here's a bit more for you:

Would union cost Tennessee VW plant a new line? Senator and automaker at odds. (+video)

...Corker would not disclose his source. His comments were in line with a media campaign launched by Americans for Tax Reform, an advocacy group in Washington operated by conservative tax activist Grover Norquist.

A radio ad, posted to the organization’s website and running on seven local stations this week, states that the UAW is “the same union that bankrupted GM and Detroit. The truth is, workers don't need the UAW to form a works council, and VW doesn't need a works council to make cars. Chattanooga isn't Germany, or Detroit. At least, not yet.”

The group has also erected billboards that state, among other messages, “the UAW spends millions to elect liberal politicans (sic), including Barack Obama...”

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2014/0213/Would-union-cost-Tennessee-VW-plant-a-new-line-Senator-and-automaker-at-odds.-video

Plus, the article states:

Under US labor law, the Chattanooga workers were barred from creating a local work council because it required unionization.

That is why the UAW is there, to make it happen for them. Corker is clearly going nuts because the people he associates with are rabidly anti-union and unions are well-known for supporting Democrats like Obama:

Why Volkswagen is helping a union organize its own plant.

...That doesn't mean, however, that the vote is unopposed. National anti-union groups and the state's Republican leaders are campaigning against the UAW, saying unionization will spread like a contagion through Tennessee's other auto plants. “Then it’s BMW, then it’s Mercedes, then it’s Nissan, hurting the entire Southeast if they get the momentum," said Sen. Bob Corker (R.-Tenn.)...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/10/why-volkswagen-is-helping-a-union-organize-its-own-plant/

Which sounds like great news for the unions. Corker is very aware of how things will change with unionization. The only thing I've read was Obama is publicly neutral, but he has sent his VP on the road to make the case. Biden says Obama will take the cause unionizing the plant to the Supreme Court:

VP Joe Biden speaks about UAW success as unionizing efforts move forward at local VW plant

...Biden also said that right-wing business interests are trying to dismantle labor unions, which is related to growing income inequality in the United States, according to The Huffington Post.

"This is a concerted, full-throated, well-organized, well-financed, well-thought-out, long-term effort waging a war on labor's house," Biden told The Huffington Post.

Click here for that article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/joe-biden-unions_n_4731933.html

He also said that President Barack Obama's administration would fight for collective bargaining before the Supreme Court.

'Look at Harris v. Quinn, the case before the Supreme Court. There’s a hell of a lot at stake. The president and I, through the solicitor general, came in on the side of the unions on the oral arguments and finally had an amicus brief, because we know that collective bargaining is the bedrock of our economy.'

Click here for that article:

http://freebeacon.com/biden-thanks-uaw-for-helping-start-political-career/

Those latter links are from this website:

http://www.nooga.com/165327/vp-joe-biden-speaks-about-uaw-success-as-unionizing-efforts-move-forward-at-local-vw-plant/

However the Washington Free Beacon appears to be a RW online rag. What they are so horrified about, sounds great to Democrats...

Did the vote take place today?