Retired circuit judge Sam Payne, left, announces that Volkswagen employees voted to deny representation by the United Auto Workers union as Frank Fischer, Chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen Group of America, center, and Gary Casteel, UAW Region 8 Director, look on from behind, concluding a three day election which ended this evening Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Dan Henry) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT (AP2014)
‘Look for the union label” was once the catchy line in a song for garment workers. Nowadays, the “union label” is a warning to run for your life — or at least your job.
The upset defeat of the United Automobile Workers Union at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee has backers hunting for scapegoats. State Republicans are easy targets, but the mad-as-hell union crowd will score only if it looks in the mirror.
There it would see the real culprit, according to Tennessee workers who rejected UAW arm-twisting.
“Look at what happened to the auto manufacturers in Detroit and how they struggled. They all shared one huge factor: the UAW,” Mike Jarvis, a Volkswagen employee who voted no on the union, told The New York Times.
The lesson should not be limited to the South, or even to industrial workers.
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