West: A public event - Chattanooga, UAW and free markets

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Thursday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m. there will be a public forum about the costs and consequences of a possible United Auto Workers Union presence in Hamilton County.

It's called "Chattanooga, UAW & Free Markets" and it is organized by Citizens for Free Markets, a coalition of citizens concerned about the UAW's drive to organize the town's Volkswagen plant.

Speakers include labor specialist Matt Patterson, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, labor economist Dr. Charles Van Eaton, and Don Jackson, a former executive at the VW plant who has seen firsthand the destructive and costly nature of this particular union.

This discussion is greatly needed, because everyone in Chattanooga will be affected by the decision of the Volkswagen workers whether to unionize.

• The UAW is a longtime and enthusiastic supporter of left-wing politicians and progressive causes, including Obamacare. The president's health care reform law amounts to the largest tax increase in United States history, the job-killing effects of which are already being felt, thanks to help from the UAW.

• Bob King, president of the UAW, brags that he and his progressive allies "scored a huge victory in November when [we] re-elected President Barack Obama."

• The union spends millions to help elect liberal politicians at the local, state and federal level.

If you don't still think the UAW is your business, ask yourself: Who bailed out General Motors after the union drove it into the ditch? You did, to the tune of almost $50 billion - a massive and outrageous public gift to Obama's private friends.

So come see the discussion Thursday night at the new Embassy Suites in Hamilton Place at 6:30 p.m. You'll hear things you may not want to know, but that you definitely need to know.

Mark West is the president of the Chattanooga Tea Party.