UAW Cites “Interference,” Appeals Volkswagen Vote
In an example of the pot calling the kettle black, the United Auto Workers union has filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board asking for a re-vote, citing political “interference” in the union’s narrow defeat in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, Volkswagen union election.
UAW President Bob King commented on the union’s appeal that “whether it was the Koch brothers or it was Grover Norquist or it was Senator Corker, Governor Haslem, the leaders of the legislature; all make threats against voting ‘yes’ and promises if people voted ‘no.’”
King further stated, “It’s an outrage that politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that would grow jobs in Tennessee.”
The UAW’s appeal cited a “coordinated and widely-publicized coercive campaign” by Tennessee politicians and outside political organizations.
But what is stunning, the UAW does not realize it is a political third party that thrives and lobbies for coercive power.
As I noted on a previous OpenMarket.org post:
How can King or any union boss decry special interest political influence? Organized labor’s existence is predicated on government granting unions special privileges and exemptions, primarily through the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and under the Supreme Court’s 1973 Enmons decision.
The NLRA and forced-unionism laws in 27 states, labor organizations have the power to compel workers, as a condition of employment, to fund unions.
The Emmons case gives unions the extraordinary power to use violence to further “legitimate” union objectives related to organizing– elevating unions above federal racketeering and extortion laws. The controversial decision determined the striking union workers, belonging to International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, firing high-powered rifles at and destroying company property legal.
Since 1975, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research has collected over 8,799 accounts of union violence. Only 1,963 arrests and 258 convictions have been made, meaning just 3 percent union violence is punished.
In addition, The Wall Street Journal reported that leading up to the union election the UAW and Volkswagen were “working in concert in several ways, including coordinating their public statements on the elections and “aligning” their communications with the plant’s employees.”
Further, the Center for Worker Freedom reported that prior to the Volkswagen union election, UAW personnel were “walking up and down the aisles wearing black shirts with the UAW logo emblazoned across them in a clear effort to intimidate the employees.”
Also, sources told the Center for Worker Freedom that UAW officials were promising workers would receive bonuses and other benefits if the UAW won the election.
The UAW’s appeal to the NLRB is a desperate measure and full of hypocrisy, as auto analyst John McElroy correctly describes it, but notes there could be a re-vote because “the union has a very favorable board, there is a preponderance of Democrats on it.”