After several weeks of controversy, some 1,700 hourly workers at Chattanooga’s Volkswagen plant are expected to vote this week on whether to approve a contractual relationship with the United Auto Workers union. It is important to note that in the run-up to the vote, at least two themes formed the basis of the anti-UAW campaign. Both undermined the opponents’ purported concern for the welfare of VW workers.
One was a paternalistic attitude that delivered a simple yet condescending message to the VW work force: Even though all of you are adults, we know what is best for you in this matter, even if it means voting against what could be your best interests.
The other was an effort to demonize the UAW. This involved suggesting that if the workers are so independence-minded as to vote in favor of representation by the union they would in effect embrace what the union opponents claimed is a criminal enterprise.
Thus the anti-UAW campaign resorted to full-page newspaper ads and apocalyptic radio ads to drive home its ominous but unpersuasive message that the union is an economic threat to Chattanooga’s future.
The concept of accountability is obviously important since without it, both union bosses and corporate executives can become corrupt, often even criminally so.