UAW Withdraws NLRB Appeal Of Volkswagen Vote

The United Auto Workers, in a surprise move, have dropped an appeal to the NLRB regarding a February vote at the Chattanooga, Tenn. Volkswagen plant, in which workers opted not to join the union. UAW had claimed the results of the vote were invalid after local lawmakers made public statements indicating that a vote to unionize would result in a loss of employment at the factory, a claim Volkswagen denied. The decision to drop the appeal, made the morning of a scheduled NLRB hearing on the matter, was based on the belief that the NLRB’s “historically dysfunctional and complex process” could drag on for months or years, UAW President Bob King said in a statement.

King said the union would move forward with other efforts in the state. “The unprecedented political interference by [Tenn. Gov. Bill Haslam], [Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)] 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.”

Corker called the decision an “eleventh-hour reversal,” and said it confirms that “their objection was nothing more than a sideshow to draw attention away from their stinging loss in Chattanooga.”