Did Senator Bob Corker Interfere with VW Labor Vote?

When workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN, voted last month against the United Auto Workers union, the process should have been done. It isn’t. They’re still fighting and it’s mostly surrounding comments made by US Senator Bob Corker.

Leaders are claiming that Corker and other politicians swayed the vote with comments insinuating that Volkswagen would bring more lines (and therefore more available working hours) to the plant if the UAW bid was shot down. It was. Now, the union filed a complaint with the NLRB to try to secure a new vote.

From a layman’s perspective, it looks like they might have a case. Corker was instrumental in bringing Volkswagen to the city in the first place when he was mayor. His connections with the automaker are clear and it’s possible that his statements were at least somewhat true even though they haven’t come through quite yet.

“If the UAW is voted down they’re going to come here immediately, within a two-week period, and affirm they’re going to build a line here,” Corker said.

It’s a pretty clear statement. It was made in the middle of the three-day voting on the issue. The final score was 712-626. With that close of a margin, it’s possible that Senator’s statements had an effect on the voters.

According to The Tennessean, a resolution may finally come next month:

The NLRB has scheduled a hearing for April 21. So expect the issue to remain in the news as we wait to see how the board rules. Either way, the issue isn’t going away anytime soon.