Volkswagen workers build Passats at the Chattanooga manufacturing plant.It is a painful fact that costly, unrealistic collective-bargaining agreements were part of the cause of severe financial troubles at major U.S. automakers in recent years. Ultimately, some automakers needed huge, taxpayer-funded bailouts as a result.
So it was noteworthy recently when Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels mentioned Tennessee’s ability to attract the big Volkswagen manufacturing plant now in Chattanooga as a reason why he supports a right-to-work law for Indiana.
Tennessee, unlike Indiana, is a right-to-work state, meaning that unions here cannot collect mandatory dues.
Daniels apparently feels that Indiana’s lack of such a law is at least part of the reason why Volkswagen didn’t give serious consideration to Indiana when it was deciding where to locate its new plant.
“I couldn’t get VW to return our call,” he said on an Indiana TV show.