The ED Show now!!!.... The Tennessee VW plant workers completely reject and refute

[ChisolmTrailDem]

the words of Sen Corker, basically saying the workers sought UAW representation, not the other way around. Said Sen Corker's words were ridiculed among the workers and workers felt their intelligence had been insulted and that they are capable of making their own decisions without having Corker tell them what they should be doing and intimidating them.


WOOO-HOOOOOOOO! The tide just may be turning, workers of America!!!


PS: I'm going to find Corker's comments relevant to the UAW vote at VW-Chattanooga. If someone else has it already, please be my guest =). ...

[DonViejo]

1. Here's one article...

Tennessee Republicans Want To Shut That Whole Union Thing Down

-snip-

It’s interesting for a few reasons: Tennessee is a low-union-density state; the Volkswagen plant in question would be the first foreign auto facility to be organized in the South, marking a growth opportunity for the United Auto Workers; and VW itself has taken a neutral-to-positive stance toward the union, citing its positive relations with employee organizations at factories elsewhere in the world.

But the most interesting part of all is the panicked reaction of local Republican politicians, who are scrambling to find ways to attack the organizing effort and deter the formation of a union.

Sen. Bob Corker held a press conference Tuesday specifically to ask VW employees to reject a union, claiming potential negative impact on the state’s economy. More insidiously, state legislators suggested that they might punish VW if employees vote for the union - withholding tax incentives for future expansions, for example. In addition to likely being illegal, these threats have a special kind of irony: “we’re so worried that you’ll have a negative jobs impact that we’re willing to block future jobs to prevent it.”

-snip-

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/tennessee-republicans-want-to-shut-that-whole-union-thing-down

[ChisolmTrailDem]

2. Here's an extensive article from WaPo

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/12/sen-bob-corker-cant-stand-the-united-auto-workers-an-annotated-interview/

He is trashing UAW there and generally being a dick. There may be some comment prior to that too, indeed I think there was - something about if the UAW is voted down VW will produce a new product at the Chattanooga plant.

[roguevalley]

33. my grandpa got blackballed organizing a train union in the depression. he

Would be proud. The only thing you lose are your chains.

[Fred Sanders]

3. It is very rich and ironic that Bob Corker is giving lectures to a world class corporation how to

run it's own business. Some people are truly made to appear as idiots because of their own corrupt roots and obligations to monied interests that fund their campaigns.

[BlueMTexpat]

46. Not only that. This world class corporation

has its HQ in one of the industrialized world's strongest economies - where workers are unionized, well treated and represented on corporation boards, as well as on worker councils. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304888404579378434291635294

US corporations could learn a lot from German corporations (and so could the USG), if they are truly interested in long-term corporate growth rather than simply maximizing share value. Maximizing share value above all other considerations is a long-term losing strategy for all other stakeholders and for society in general.

[CTyankee]

49. Thanks for the link! That was sweet. In the Wall St. Journal no less!

[Enthusiast]

4. Watching now. K&R!

[sheshe2]

5. Kick!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

6. Some young free-market twerp was interviewed by Jeffrey Brown on PBS last night...

and was *totally* schooled by a labor prof at UC-Berkeley. It was a thing of beauty.

Possible unionization by Volkswagen auto workers spurs political backlash in Tennessee
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/possible-unionization-volkswagen-workers-spurs-political-backlash/

(Not what you were looking for, but it's hilarious. And I was happy to see Jeffrey not let up on that little twit...)

[NBachers]

13. I watched it, via your link. I hate Young Republicans. What a smarmy little douchebag.

[47of74]

17. That seems to be a requirement for young teabaggers these days

They all need to have the vacant beady eyed creepy little fuckstick look down before they'll even be considered as a young Republican.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

19. *Total* chickenhawk Young Republican...

fighting the good fight from the safety of his desk chair. Probably with a signed photo of Ann Coulter close by.

Europe bad! Unions bad! Free markets good!

F. Vincent Vernuccio

[Mnpaul]

37. What an idiot

He actually argued against a company colluding with its workers. Quality cars may result of this cooperation. Oh noes!

[spanone]

7. the senator and governor should be removed from office.

if i ran VW i would tell the state to go fuck itself....and i live here

[Le Taz Hot]

31. Ah, then you would be the person to ask.

How is this playing among the general population in Tennessee?

[spanone]

35. not well. editorial and article sum it up...

Matt Patterson’s Feb. 10 op-ed, “TN taxpayers subsidize UAW outrage at VW plant” was a blatant attempt to mislead. The only true statement in his entire diatribe was that Volkswagen Chattanooga did receive generous help from Tennessee taxpayers. In return, Tennessee has received thousands of jobs.

As for the UAW, the workers will make that choice, and I totally endorse their right to do so and encourage them to vote in favor of union representation. There is not one dime of taxpayer dollars going to the UAW. Volkswagen works councils are not controlled by IG Metall. Patterson clearly has no idea what cooperative programs are or how they work. Why is it when upper management says “we respect our workers’ right to choose representation,” it is “conspiring” with the union?

Even the name of Patterson’s organization is misleading. The Center for Worker Freedom does nothing to help workers have freedom to exercise a voice in the workplace. The only organization that has ever given workers a voice is organized labor.

Keith R. Kirchner
Franklin 37064

The Tennessee GOP's union-thwarting push has backfired

Friday is the last day of a union-organizing vote at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. At stake is whether the German automaker's sole plant in the U.S. will be represented by the United Auto Workers. But it's also much more than that: The battle being waged in Chattanooga is being billed as a seminal moment that will either pave the way for more labor unions in the South, or affirm the continuation of a "right to work" region that is UAW-free.

Going into the three-day election, the vote was too close too call among the 1,550 workers.

"A vote for unionization at Volkswagen would be a historic victory — not only for the UAW, but for the entire labor movement," says John Logan at Reuters. "It would provide unions with a key victory in the South, even in the face of a lavishly funded external anti-union campaign, and may lead to transformative changes in labor-management relations, especially among European-owned firms." Those notably include the BMW plant in South Carolina and the Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama.

Those "lavishly funded" salvos are coming from conservative groups like Americans for Tax Reform, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and the National Right to Work Committee. Tennessee Republicans have also gotten involved — and this is where things get dicey.

http://theweek.com/article/index/256496/the-tennessee-gops-union-thwarting-push-has-backfired

[bkanderson76]

8. Senator Bob Corker needs to get a job...we can take care of ours...stand up Chattanooga nt

[asjr]

18. And tell them to tie Lamar Alexander down in the trunk

and take him with them.

[blackspade]

9. Unions, YES!

[summerschild]

10. What Bob Corker is doing is a travesty and may even

Last edited Fri Feb 14, 2014, 11:23 PM - Edit history (1)

be illegal. He is a total jerk. The sad part of this story, though, is the more the public, the media, (and Obama) have to say good about unionizing it, the worse the Tennessee state legislature will treat them, every chance they get.

I am a Tennessean and I stay embarrassed over our republican controlled state government. They are a bunch of teabaggers who have passed every hateful, teabaggery thing they can come up with. And our governor and both of our Senators are R's and all but two of our members of the House. We're screwed and our state screws everybody they can.

[TrollBuster9090]

12. President Gore makes up for all the bad Tennessee politicians, in my opinion.

And, of course, we all know he IS technically President Gore. Although the history books haven't recored him that way, thanks to a crooked Supreme Court decision.

[freshwest]

29. I don't understand this part of your comment:

...The sad part of this story, though, is the more the public, the media, (and Obama) have to say bad about it, the worse the Tennessee state legislature will treat them, every chance they get...

The only references I can find to Obama in this matter is:

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 came from this website link:

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

Am I missing what Obama said 'bad' about it, or is that a typo there? I can't find where the Obama administration is against unionizing it. I don't know your views, and I may be reading it wrong, but I can't find anything to say that.

If you mean that the GOP in TN is going to grasp at straws at any positive word from PBO to prevent VW going union, I get that, and it's very sad indeed to live under that kind of rule. But if Corker's worst fears come true, TN may be on the road to a big change for the better. Fingers crossed for your state!

TIA.

[summerschild]

43. I apologize for my poor wording, freshwest!

I screwed up the wording - I thought I heard or read that Obama criticized Corker's interference and that is what I said the TN legislature would go crazy over.

I didn't copy a reference so I may have mistaken references to the White House as being made by the President. I just edited my post to hopefully clarify that.

In the meantime, I am reading that the TN plant employees rejected the UAW. I would bet you they were scared to approve it. As afraid as people are of losing their jobs - and with the top TN lawmakers threatening - what can we expect?

[freshwest]

44. it's cool. So sad to see they were intimidated into voting it down. As I posted, the GOP saw it as

the beginning of the end for the way they've been running TN.

We still have 2014, with every seat in the House up for grabs.

Gotta keep on going.

[TrollBuster9090]

11. Go Tennessee! The good people of Tennessee will throw off the yoke of conservative politicians

who've been insulting their intelligence for years.

I'm just embarrassed that it took a GERMAN company to show us how to let their employees have freedom.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

14. That's what needs to happen. I give conservatives a hard time. But if only they would

just look at what has been done to their lives and the lives of the people they love. They need to "throw off the yoke", indeed. And not just in Tennessee!

[Aldo Leopold]

15. Workers unite!

Now let's go!

[Eleanors38]

42. Get democracy in one plant, and it spreads to the others.

[arthritisR_US]

16. Smart chaps! :) nt

[senseandsensibility]

20. Go, Tennessee workers!

Figure out who's on your side, and the rest is easy!

[paleotn]

21. How conveniently they forget....

the GM Spring Hill plant. UAW since it opened in 1990. There wasn't a hell of a lot in Maury county before GM came to town. Since then the area has grown astronomically, the bulk of the growth being directly related to a unionized auto manufacturing plant. Of course that story began during the term of a Democratic governor, Ned Mcwhorter. Though Nashville has steadily grown, particularly the southern burbs, it's doubtful that growth would have impacted Maury county without GM, other than some ex-burb, bedroom communities on the northern edge.

The point is that history plainly shows that Corker and Gov. Haslam are completely full of shite! It still amazes me that my old home state has sunk so low politically. Damn shame.

[madrchsod]

36. the steel mill i worked for made the structural H beams for the plant

gm was using canadian beam untill the union welders and ironworkers noticed some of our beams. then they refused to weld canadian beams because they knew nws&w was a union plant.

[Dustlawyer]

22. Workers need to understand, if they are not organized they are at the whim of their employer.

Their safety at work is whatever is cheapest usually. They make sure you wear your safety glasses but removed the guard on the saw because it slowed things down;
Wages are just enough to keep you there, barely; and
In a "Right to Work" state they can fire you for no reason or for personal grudges, not so with the union.
Far too many union workers in the refineries near where I live make real good money but vote Republican. The unions are helpless to do anything about it as these workers have forgotten how they got weekends, overtime pay, safe work environment, and job security.

[Wolf Frankula]

23. Exactly Right

When you have a union, when you face the boss, you have somebody on your side. Without a union, when you face the boss, you face the boss alone.

Wolf

[TexasTowelie]

28. Meanwhile, I know some stupid Republicans

who think that they don't need a union and they can represent themselves better without one.

[mountain grammy]

24. Working under a contract is empowering

job security, safety issues, working conditions and so much else gives workers the sense of having a voice in their workplace and their lives. It's so frustrating to convince people of these benefits; the propaganda has done its job.

[japple]

25. Oh you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union....

a bit of levity from Arlo

I live near Chattanooga, listen to WUTC-FM, and support all progressive efforts in the region. I'm sticking to the Union!!

[lostincalifornia]

26. Geeeezzzzz your headline at first made me wonder

[RKP5637]

27. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

30. I'm curious as to how this is playing

with the population in Tennessee in general. Tennesseans?

[anniebelle]

52. Unfortunately, I live in the same city with this VW plant.

I was not one bit shocked by the vote. You would not believe the anti-union propaganda flying around Chattanooga. My neighbors and fellow citizens (for the most part) are beyond ignorant. It's positively disgusting to have to go out amongst them. And, believe me, they are proud of it too. Flying their 'surrender' flags on the front of their doublewides, running down the road humping bibles like a pack of dogs, and hating everything factual and 'believing' everything Faux News spits out of their teevees. The Koch Brothers run this nation from corner to corner.

[socialist_n_TN]

32. I've already got an article assigned from Workers' Power about this.....

I'm waiting until we get official notice about whether the UAW won or not before I go ahead and draft something for the Ed Board.

I've gone to a few events sponsored by the UAW here in middle Tennessee (they've been trying to organize Nissan for years now) and have helped out some. I hope this happens in Chattanooga because, if it does, it will put a LOT of pressure on the Nissan workers to organize too. There are three major carmakers in Tennessee and two would be UAW organized if it happens in Chattanooga.

[IrishAyes]

34. That cliffhanger title scared me half to death. I was afraid you were going to report

they'd rejected unionizing.

[Stardust]

38. When will we know the final vote? Nt

[madrchsod]

40. in the two-three day range if it is really close.

there's certain procedures in counting the votes,challenges,and final certification.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

41. The VW workers I referenced in the OP said it wouldn't come close to rejecting UAW. They expect

an easy vote to accept UAW representation.

[madrchsod]

39. all those southern states are right to work states

if the vote is for the union those who voted no might not pay union dues. they are under no legal obligation to do so. yet the union has to represent them during a grievance.

working next to someone who is not paying dues might not lead to a "happy" workplace.

[n2doc]

45. Except they voted to reject the UAW

They must like Corker more than you think.

Let's face it, beating 40 years of anti-union propaganda ain't gonna be easy.

[BlueMTexpat]

47. Sadly true, although not by much.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/uaw-vote-volkswagen-plant-tenn-ends-friday-22519817

But VW will still have major issues in Germany with this. One of the initial pushes for this vote came indirectly from the German union, IG Metall. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/15/us-autos-vw-election-idUSBREA1D1DP20140215

I really hope that court action against the patently intimidating tactics used by Corker and the TN Governor during the actual vote can be successfully mounted. "Free speech" is all too often used as an excuse to deny rights and harm comparatively powerless individuals, which certainly doesn't seem ever to have been the point for having it.

[boomerbust]

48. Just reported

90% nay

[B Calm]

50. 87 votes shy of victory for UAW

I thought the people would be smarter than that in Tennessee.

[concreteblue]

51. Do you lie on the Internet for a LIving?

Or do the intracacies of teh Google mystify you?
712 to 626
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/15/us-autos-vw-election-idUSBREA1D1DP20140215

[secondwind]

54. wow... stay classy

[JHB]

55. 712/(712+626) * 100= 53%

How exactly did you come up with 90%?

[Turbineguy]

53. Volkswagen may want to look at a state where

there's less republican government interference.

[pasto76]

56. hold your breath for that

while VW may not have been against their workforce organizing -which is what is is really called, not 'unionization' - they are not pursuing it either. Had they been, they would have set up shop in a UAW state.

[ReRe]

57. Ahem... this was voted down by the employees, wasn't it?

I was so glad that Ed had those guys on his show, though. What this shows is the desperation of the workers. They were afraid that if they voted for the Union, that VW would take the factory somewhere else. Just wait till they start work and are treated like shit by the management. And if they don't like how management treats them, they will have no recourse.
Management will tell them if they don't like the way they run things, the employee can quit.