NASHVILLE -- Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says Volkswagen officials told him this week the German manufacturer is remaining "neutral" in its dealings with the United Auto Workers and labor issues at its Chattanooga plant.
"I think I was assured yesterday that they told me they want to stay neutral. I said, 'OK, that's all I'm going to ask for,'" Ramsey told reporters Thursday.
The speaker said he and Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, the Senate speaker pro tempore, met with top VW officials Wednesday.
Christian Koch, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America's Chattanooga operations, and David Geanacopoulos, the group's executive vice president for public affairs and general counsel, came to the state Capitol to meet with legislators, including some Chattanooga lawmakers highly critical of the UAW's effort to unionize the Chattanooga plant and Volkswagen's handling of the issue.
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, speaks during a legislative planning session in this 2014, file photo.Volkswagen is seeking support for a $165.8 million incentive deal that Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has included in his proposed budget. The money would provide support for Volkswagen to begin making a new sport utility vehicle at its Chattanooga facility.
The company is investing $600 million into its Chattanooga operations and plans to add 2,000 more workers.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's settled -- I suppose," Ramsey said. "I will say this. My members, including my speaker pro tem [Bo Watson] who's from Hamilton County, if he decides it's not settled then I'll probably be on his side on this. But as far as when they told it to me yesterday and looked me in the eye and said we're staying neutral, that gave me some assurance, yes."
Watson said he has been "consistent" in maintaining that organized labor activity at VW was problematic.
"And that's nothing new," Watson said. "I think we had a good, robust discussion about that yesterday with the folks from Volkswagen, and I think they understand that."
Last year, Watson was among state legislative leaders who sharply criticized VW for its perceived support for the UAW ahead of a February 2014 union vote. He said then that Volkswagen was conducting a labor campaign that's "unfair, unbalanced and, quite frankly, un-American."
The UAW lost, 712 to 626, and then alleged interference by Republican state politicians. Volkswagen, which uses worker councils at its other plants across the globe, later created a new policy to interact with labor groups based on the numbers of members. It granted the UAW and, later, an anti-UAW employee group called the American Council of Employees, access to the plant and regular meetings with management.
Asked whether the issue has now been resolved, Watson said Thursday that the "issue really isn't about resolving because the right of workers to organize is a right. I mean, you can't take that away."
He said what he tried to convey is that "we're a right-to-work state. We believe that manufacturing has come to this state and the Southeast for that."
Watson added that when "organized labor, not Volkswagen, but when organized labor says that their objective is to be here and there are incentives that may facilitate that, then I think the General Assembly is going to take a serious look at that."
Lawmakers "probably should do a better job in vetting" economic incentives in general, Watson said, noting that Haslam has proposed another $30 million or so for a yet-to-be-identified project.
Another critic of the UAW's role at the plant, Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, said he had a "really interesting conversation, a very frank conversation" with VW officials. "The one thing I do admire about the Germans is they're very blunt. You know exactly where they stand."
He called the discussion "very productive."
"As I've said before, I've got some real hesitancy about it," Carter said. "But that's not the issue that's going to call my vote. Here's what calls my vote. I'm not going to make [former] Gov. Bredesen nor his successor, Gov. Haslam, I'm not going to question their integrity in recruiting new business in the future. If they make a deal, I'm going to back it."
He added: "I just don't see any other way to let our governors do business. Some legislator from Ooltewah can't affect the governor's right to make deals. And I have to understand that. He's the deal-maker. I guess I can whine about it from time to time. But I'm not going to step in his way."
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-East Ridge, said he doesn't believe the incentives will be blocked by legislative colleagues.
"I think the only chance there would be a problem [is] if Volkswagen recognized the UAW as bargaining agent without having a vote of the employees. And I was assured again that that's not going to happen. So I think we'll be OK with the incentives."
VW's Koch and Geanacopoulos were tight-lipped when a Times Free Press reporter caught up with them in a legislative hallway before one of their appointments. Geanacopoulos said company executives pay a visit annually. The company later hosted a reception for lawmakers.
Asked how the meetings were going, Geanacopoulos said, "We're not going to comment on our meetings." As for where things stood on winning approval for the incentives, he said, "I don't think we want to handicap it or make predictions. We just want to explain the benefits of what we're doing at the factory and the return on investment that we think comes from it -- and let the legislators deal with the legislation."
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.