Tennessee’s Republican leaders are putting a happy face on defeat after Volkswagen workers voted overwhelmingly to unionize at the Chattanooga plant.
With more than 4,325 VW employees casting ballots, workers voted 2,628-985 for representation by the United Auto Workers last week, marking a milestone for workers at a foreign-owned auto plant.
Gov. Bill Lee opposed the UAW vote a week ago with neighboring states’ Republican governors, warning it could stop auto manufacturing jobs in the region.
Lee said Monday he felt the outcome was a “loss for workers” but not a defeat for himself and other Republican leaders who spoke out against unionization at the Chattanooga facility.
“I would not make that decision if I was a worker there. It’s unwise to put your future in somebody else’s hands. But those workers make that decision based on the individual circumstances at the plant. I think it was a mistake, but that’s their choice,” Lee said Monday after an event at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin.
In addition to Gov. Lee, U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, state Rep. Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain and Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson encouraged workers to vote against UAW representation between April 17-19.
“It’s unwise to put your future in somebody else’s hands. But those workers make that decision based on the individual circumstances at the plant. I think it was a mistake, but that’s their choice.” — Gov. Bill Lee
Watson scoffed Monday at the notion the vote’s outcome was a loss for Republican leaders. He told the Lookout last week he opposed a VW agreement with the UAW because of a history of corruption.
“As I’ve said from the get-go, workers have a right to organize. I wish they’d made a different decision, but they didn’t, so let’s move ahead with what we have,” Watson said.
Democratic state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem of Chattanooga, who backed the UAW’s organizing effort with a show of support at a Republican event outside the Chattanooga plant in early April, called the outcome a “great day” for VW and workers across the state.
“I think it sends a message that people are engaged. They do listen to what’s going on and they’ll do what’s in the best interests of themselves and their families,” Hakeem said Monday. “I think it was not a win in any form for leadership, and I would hope there’s an evaluation of the issues and how it impacts citizens as opposed to … taking a corporate perspective. They need to get beyond that and think about what’s in the best interests of the people.”
The UAW gained large wage increases for workers after striking earlier this year at Detroit auto plants, and the Volkswagen vote marked the third effort to organize there as part of a test case to gain a foothold in the Southeast United States.
A Mercedes-Benz union election is scheduled May 13-17 in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama.
“In spite of relentless lies and scare tactics from Gov. Bill Lee and other pro-business politicians, workers refused to be swayed by yet another round of attempted election interference and sent a clear message that they want a voice on the job.” — Billy Dycus, Tennessee AFL-CIO
Tennessee has been a right-to-work state for some 60 years, and voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022 enabling workers to avoid paying union dues, a move that makes it even more difficult to dial back the right-to-work law.
Tennessee AFL-CIO President Billy Dycus said last week’s vote in an “anti-worker” state with a Republican supermajority in control “speaks volumes about the power and solidarity” of the national labor movement.
“(The) historic victory in Chattanooga confirms what those of us in the labor movement know to be true: It’s better in a union,” Dycus said. “In spite of relentless lies and scare tactics from Gov. Bill Lee and other pro-business politicians, workers refused to be swayed by yet another round of attempted election interference and sent a clear message that they want a voice on the job.”
In addition to Volkswagen, the General Motors plant in Spring Hill is unionized, and the Ford Motor Co. electric truck plant under construction at BlueOval City in Haywood County is expected to have UAW representation. Nissan’s Smyrna plant remains union-free after several attempts by the UAW to organize.
Sam Stockard is a veteran Tennessee reporter and editor, having written for the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, where he served as lead editor when the paper won an award for being the state’s best Sunday newspaper two years in a row. He has led the Capitol Hill bureau for The Daily Memphian. His awards include Best Single Editorial from the Tennessee Press Association.
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