Anti-union groups intensify efforts to keep UAW out of Tennessee

Anti-union groups have intensified their efforts to stop the UAW from establishing a presence in Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. Drivers around the city are now greeted with more billboards, some showing blighted Detroit, while the Center For Worker Freedom has launched a “UAW wants your guns” campaign.

A CWF billboard spotted by the Chattanooga Times Free Press labels the union “United Obama Workers” and appears to have been hastily designed without checking for spelling errors.

“The UAW spends millions to elect liberal politicans [sic], including BARACK OBAMA,” the sign reads.

The CWF’s anti-UAW arguments mostly focus on the union’s campaign donations to Democrats, tying union support to political positions that are unpopular with conservatives. Chattanooga consistently shows Republican voting majorities in major elections.

Other groups, such as Southern Momentum, have made specific arguments against the UAW’s own policies. The nonprofit claims UAW organizers are approaching workers and implying hourly pay of up to $28 per hour, while referencing Ford’s recent profit-sharing payouts of $8,800.

Anti-union sentiment has grown in recent years, particularly in light of the automotive industry collapse that began in 2008. The UAW had pushed for benefit packages that companies found to be unsustainable during the recession, though the union later agreed to lower starting wages and other concessions. Profit-sharing payouts represent one of the compromises, giving workers a proportional bonus in profitable years while reducing the payroll burden during tougher times.

With a unionization vote scheduled for February 12 at the Chattanooga plant, the outcome may prove significant on a wider scale. Amid declining membership, the UAW may view success as a turning point that could gain momentum and spark similar actions in other foreign-owned plants.

Opponents fear Chattanooga may become the UAW’s first foothold in the traditionally anti-union South, pushing automakers–and their jobs–out of the region.