Volkswagen employees may have made a huge mistake when they rejected union membership on Friday.

Employees at VW's Chattanooga plant voted against representation by United Auto Workers, leaving the factory as the only Volkswagen plant worldwide without a formal mechanism for workers' representation.

The German "co-determination" model mandates works councils, which connect employees to management, at all large German companies. Following the union vote, the head of Volkswagen's works council told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the automaker would hesitate to expand in the U.S. South.

"I can imagine fairly well that another VW factory in the United States, provided that one more should still be set up there, does not necessarily have to be assigned to the South again," said works council leader Bernd Osterloh.

"If co-determination isn't guaranteed in the first place, we as workers will hardly be able to vote in favor" of building another plant in the right-to-work South, Osterloh added.

Osterloh's characterization of the union vote as jeopardizing potential growth at the Tennessee plant, and across the South, contrasts with what Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) was saying before the balloting. Corker suggested a vote in favor of unionization would hinder VW's growth.

"I've had conversations today and based on those am assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen will announce in the coming weeks that it will manufacture its new mid-size SUV here in Chattanooga," Corker said last week.

Osterloh blamed conservative lawmakers for possibly influencing the vote by misleading Volkswagen employees.

"The conservatives stirred up massive, anti-union sentiments,"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/20/vw-union-workers_n_4820585.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
Osterloh said. "It's possible that the conclusion will be drawn that this interference amounted to unfair labor practice."

yep,imagine the amount of Union-Fees the UAW is losing!
Besides,the Workers ain't mute,ain't they!
They can speak up for themselves,instead of being ripped off by the UAW!

Unions should be outlawed.

"Volkswagen's top labor representative threatened on Wednesday to try to block further investments by the German carmaker in the southern United States if its workers there are not unionized."

No bias there is their? So you have one jerk off source quoting another jerk off source interviewing the head of being unionized saying that union employees may not vote for another plant in the Southern US because they stand alone with the company instead of relying on the corrupt UAW.

Sure.

I understand the City of Detroit is selling their name in the bankruptcy hearings. Perhaps Chattanooga would be willing to buy it?

Unions you get respect from fellow workers , no union places treat yopu like **** and if we loose all the high paying jobs you will be on the street corners soon waiting for your next hand out and BELIEVE me its a coming . So matter how you slice big bizz is out to keep us poor and also injured workrs have more rights with the union and what i takes is a healthy balance , just sayin

yep,they screw you so neat,you wouldn't know until they kiss you that you have been screwed!

They are in bed with the Politicians and the big established Corporations against you!

Unions are labor cartels that extort businesses and are designed to keep non-union workers out--people who would happily do a better job for less. Yes a few union workers, and especially their crooked bosses, make out like bandits, but this costs the economy, strangles the company, and leads to much higher unemployment. Extortion and thuggery will get some into the middle class, but it is designed to keep most out. (It is also how a lot of Dems. get elected.)

Asking a union boss for advice on employment is like asking a fox how to raise chickens!

Workers are getting wise.

They see the unions have chased many auto production jobs to Mexico.

But a fox would give very good information on raising chickens, after all it knows where it's dinner comes from.

But one point that was very strong was quality, and the speaker for the workers called that into question with UAW.

Mexican auto producers use the same robotics used here.

They send qualified quality inspectors from the US and other countries.

Production workers make about $75.00 a week including free health insurance for the families.

I have a lady friend who makes auto wiring harnesses. She makes $50.00 a week and company paid health insurance for her whole family.

The imported pros get twice the US union pay, free family health care and living subsidies.

It is amazing that unions even still exist. One look at Detroit is enough evidence to ban unions forever.

The workers at the New VW plant are VERY HAPPY with their pay, benefits, insurance, and working conditions. They have NOTHING to gain by joining a union except losing part of their salary to the union bosses and the political hacks.

http://laborpains.org/2012/05/01/uaw-cuts-rival-union-out-of-auto-recovery/

UAW Cuts Rival Union Out of Auto Recovery

Though the size and influence of the United Auto Workers (UAW) has waned over the past couple of decades, the union cashed a substantial amount of political capital to help secure the 2007 bailout of the auto industry. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the union has made sure to protect its members,even at the expense of employees in other unions.

General Motors (GM) Moraine (OH) plant was one of the most productive and cooperative factories, yet it was closed following the automaker's 2007 labor pact with the UAW. Two years later in the midst of a recovery, Moraine's 2,500 laid-off workers are barred from transferring to other plants under a deal brokered by the UAW during GM's bankruptcy,locking them out of the industry's rebound.

The problem: Moraine's workers weren't in the UAW.

Originally an appliance factory, the plant moved to automobile manufacturing under GM. The workers there elected to stick with the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE), rather than join the UAW. However, they generally accepted contracts negotiated by the UAW.

When GM began having financial difficulty in 2007, IUE leaders decided to break ranks with the UAW and offer concessions to keep GM and Moraine afloat. However, as the company's financial situation worsened, and GM and the UAW began negotiating, IUE had no seat at the table. Unfortunately, by the time GM had satisfied the UAW, there was nothing left for IUE workers in Moraine.

In the end, we had to take care of our own members, says Cal Rapson, the former UAW vice president leading negotiations with GM.It was unfortunate what happened to the others. But there wasn't enough to go around.

And Obama had to take care of his own ...

Understood. This is about VW. It's also about unions and outsourcing.

Latest gm_to_build_new_vehicle__at_plant_in_mexico_22462 ...
www.industryweek.com/articles/gm_to_build_new_vehicle__at_plant_in...
Home > Latest gm_to_build_new_vehicle__at_plant_in_mexico_22462.aspx Articles. ... Manufacturing Outlook: Improving time to market, ...
GM announces Mexico powertrain investments
www.just-auto.com/news/gm-announces-powertrain-investments_id...

General Motors has announced that it will invest USD691m for its manufacturing operations in Mexico ... president and managing director of General Motors de Mexico. ...
GM To Build Engines In Mexico - Manufacturing . net
www.manufacturing.net/news/2011/01/gm-to-build-engines-in-mexico

General Motors is investing $540 million to build fuel-efficient engines at its plant in central Mexico, which is expected to create 500 jobs.
Automotive Manufacturing in Mexico - General Motors ...
maquiladoraindustrynews.com/index.php/mexico-manufacturing/mexico...

General Motors has announced plans to invest US$540m and hire 500 people to build two new engines at its Toluca plant in Mexico. Read more: Mexico: GM Invests US$540m ...
Manufacturing in Mexico - Growth - Boom - General Motors ...
maquiladoraindustrynews.com/index.php/mexico-manufacturing/whats...

With lower shipping costs and increasingly competitive wages, Mexico is enjoying a manufacturing boom, attracting billions of dollars in foreign investment from firms ..



Looks like VW has been there for years. They still make the old style beetle. To export one from Mexico to the states, all the glass has to be replaced. Mexico doesn't use safety glass.


Mexico City: German automaker Volkswagen said it will begin manufacturing its redesigned Golf model in Mexico in the first quarter of 2014.

"With its existing infrastructure, competitive cost structures and free trade agreements, Mexico is the ideal location to produce the Golf" for markets in North and South America, Hubert Waltl, a member of the board of management of the Volkswagen passenger cars brand, was quoted as saying in a statement.

"The decision to produce the Golf in Mexico builds on Volkswagen's strategy for the North American market", where it plans to invest more than $5 billion over the next three years, the statement said.

"Localization has become increasingly important in automotive manufacturing" as a safeguard against currency fluctuations and a means of being closer to the market where the vehicles will ultimately be sold, it added.

Volkswagen said it plans to invest around $700 million to adapt the production lines at its plant in the central Mexican city of Puebla to manufacture the all-new VW Golf hatchback.

Earlier this month, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker inaugurated a $550 million engine plant in the central Mexico state of Guanajuato.

Last September, it also announced plans to invest $1.3 billion to build a new Audi plant in Puebla.

Volkswagen produced a record 600,000 vehicles in Mexico last year, 88 percent of which were destined for export around the world.

The German automaker - whose Mexican subsidiary, Volkswagen de Mexico, was founded in 1964 - owns the Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda and Porsche brands, among others.

http://globalnews.ca/news/728063/haunting-images-of-detroits-abandoned-buildings/

Haunting images of Detroit’s abandoned buildings

But a portend of things to come.