Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)
The UAW is
giving up its appeal of February's union representation election at a Chattanooga, Tennessee, Volkswagen plant. The union had subpoenaed Republican officials like Gov. Bill Haslam and Sen. Bob Corker, around whose threats of dire consequences if workers unionized the appeal to the National Labor Relations Board had centered, seeking information on those threats. But, unsurprisingly, the same people who threatened workers over a union vote weren't interested in participating in a fair appeals process, a process that could drag on almost indefinitely:
[UAW President Bob] King said the UAW based its decision on the belief that the NLRB’s "historically dysfunctional and complex process potentially could drag on for months or even years."
The UAW had subpoeaned Tennessee politicians seeking to force them to attend an NLRB hearing and turn over documents about whether the state improperly sought to withhold incentives for building a new mid-size SUV if workers had agreed to form a union.
King cited refusals by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., to participate.
“The unprecedented political interference by Gov. Haslam, Sen. Corker and others was a distraction for Volkswagen employees and a detour from achieving Tennessee’s economic priorities,” King said. “The UAW is ready to put February’s tainted election in the rearview mirror and instead focus on advocating for new jobs and economic investment in Chattanooga.”
In other words, this was going to turn into a drawn-out fight in which the people who engaged in intimidation refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the NLRB appeals process and it
wasn't even clear if intimidation by lawmakers, rather than an employer, would hold up as grounds for calling a new election. Given that, it probably makes sense for the UAW to pick up and move on.