Wisconsin union holding federal funds hostage
Governor Dayton’s Baleful Influence on Labor Relations
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
After coming up with strong contracts with Detroit’s Big 3, many have waited to see what foreign automakers with factories in the U.S. that the United Auto Workers union might choose as an organizing target. Now Reuters thinks it knows the answer: Volkswagen and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz.
Makes sense — sort of. Both of the German automakers are unionized in their home countries, unlike Japanese automakers which have always had a chummier relationship with production workers.
Both are seeing good sales gains in the U.S. and have set even loftier sales goals. But in setting up their U.S. plants, both VW and Mercedes were careful to choose right-to-work states in the South where hostility to unions runs high. Volkswagen has a huge new factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Mercedes makes its luxury vehicles in Vance, Ala.
