UAW Not Giving Up on Unionizing South
The United Auto Workers union isn't giving up the fight in trying to unionize workers at an auto plant in Tennessee. They're asking for a recount after a relatively close vote that ended on Friday.
The vote, involving workers at a Volkswagon plant in Chattanooga, showed 712 of the estimated 1500 workers against unionizing. But the tally also found 626 workers voted to bring in the UAW. A much closer margin than originally thought.
That margin is giving hope for those who thought the Tennessee Volkswagon Plant was their best bet for gaining a stronghold on the Right to Work state and others like it.
The vote, though, is considered a major defeat after all the resources the union had dedicated to trying to set a precedent there. The three days of voting came after a massive campaign for and against the move .
Proponents of unionizing depicted a yes vote as a way to raise wages and security for workers. Opponents said it would simply cost jobs and expansion in the state.