Posted on 11/21/2013 8:27:17 AM PST by Kaslin
After bringing America’s automotive industry to the brink of complete collapse, union bosses have set their sights on foreign auto companies with manufacturing plants in the United States, specifically targeting Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) has launched a concerted effort to unionize the Chattanooga plant’s workers, but have decided to strategically use non-traditional methods to obtain unionization. Last month, UAW representative Gary Casteel poignantly told The Tennessean, “We are not seeking a vote necessarily … We know if we go for a traditional election where the outside organizations could campaign against us, we’d probably lose.”
Normally, a company’s workers would vote in a secret ballot election to determine union representation, but the UAW has taken an approach that circumvents the democratic process and a fair election by utilizing a process known as card check. Under card check, workers show their support for unionization by signing a membership card, often in the presence of labor organizers, meaning they are often pressured and coerced, as opposed to voting their conscience without fear of reprisal.
As Casteel’s comments suggest, there are a number of inequities in this process. Union workers can approach employees and harass or mislead them into signing a membership card. As a result, workers are often susceptible to intimidation tactics and sometimes even outright lied to. Additionally, card check exposes the names of the workers that dissent or oppose unionization, which can lead to retaliation by disgruntled employees in the workplace or by union organizers outside of it. For this very reason, America’s workplace democracy relies on a longstanding tradition of a secret ballot.
Sadly, many of the aforementioned problems have plagued the plant in Chattanooga, so much so that a number of Volkswagen’s employees have taken issue with the UAW’s campaign, according to several media reports. Various plant workers recently filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that the UAW tricked them into signing union cards. The plant workers claim that labor organizers incorrectly told them that by signing the cards they would merely be supporting a secret ballot vote, when in reality they had just consented to union representation.
After learning that they had been deceived into signing these union cards, the workers attempted to retract their support but were met by obstacles that made it difficult to do so. For instance, these employees were told that the only way they could withdraw their support would be to physically appear at a labor office, where they would surely be met by upset union representatives eager to change their minds. This entire process has been dogged by several other suspicious actions, such as allegations of organized labor counting invalid cards that are outdated.
Volkswagen deserves credit for employing an American workforce, but in the United States, we are the home of the secret ballot and demand fairness and even-handedness in our workplace elections, and will settle for nothing less. In recent years, Americans have become aware of the pitfalls of unionization, so much so that labor bosses are now admitting that they can’t win a fair fight with an informed electorate in the workplace. The livelihood of unions bosses are now at stake, which is why they have resorted to waging a campaign of misinformation that relies on dirty tactics and hurts the same people they intend to represent.
Volkswagen has a clear obligation to its workers. Now that the UAW has admitted that they would lose a secret ballot election, Volkswagen's workers deserve an opportunity to prove the union bosses right.
Well they chased them to other states from Detroit, time to chase the car makers away some more...
Forgot to add that the Dims would love it if regular elections were carrier out the way Union elections were carried out. This is EXACTLY what the IRS intimidation of Tea Parties was , Union Thug tactics.
Unfortunately large companies like the automakers often prefer to deal with the union over thousands of individual employees.
Exactly right. My question remains, why the demand by some to bring back overseas jobs? Why would an employer in their right mind even consider manufacturing anything in the US? Thug tactics by the unions, a work ethic that no longer exists in our younger generations, tax burdens that are less in about any other part of the world, EPA that has as its goal to put you out of business, WHY even consider it?
It amazes me that Dems, will always say that they are not Marxists but always seem to oppose free, fair, and honest (and democratic) voting.
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I was shocked that card check didn’t get voted thru in the 09-10 Congress. Apparently Obamacare used up all the time.
“card check” should specifically be made illegal and any vote submitted via card check should carry a persumption of invalidity and be void as a matter of law. (not voidable but directly void)
Grab a few union leaders, beat the snot out of them then tell them if this doesn’t end by the end of the week, their families and pets will vanish from the face of the earth.
The way to beat up a bully is employ bully tactics against them.
Might as well complain to Richard Trumka.
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