A half dozen southern Republican governors Tuesday urged Volkswagen employees in Chattanooga to vote against representation by the United Auto Workers union, claiming the UAW campaign is "driven by misinformation and scare tactics" and the union will "threaten our jobs and the values we live by."
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey joined in issuing a statement Tuesday against the UAW as hourly VW workers prepare to vote over the next three days about whether to join the UAW.
"Unionization would certainly put our states' jobs in jeopardy — in fact, in this year already, all of the UAW automakers have announced layoffs," the statement said. "In America, we respect our workforce and we do not need to pay a third party to tell us who can pick up a box or flip a switch."
(READ MORE: Wamp, others call for vote against UAW at Volkswagen Chattanooga)
Volkswagen employees rejected previous UAW elections in 2014 and 2019 at the Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga, but the number of hourly employees has since grown to 4,300 workers. The VW plant in Chattanooga is the only major Volkswagen facility in the world that is not represented by a labor union.
In their statement, the governors said "the ugly reality" is that "every single time a foreign automaker plant has been unionized; not one of those plants remains in operation. And we are seeing it in the fallout of the Detroit Three strike with those automakers rethinking investments and cutting jobs. "
The UAW did not immediately respond to the governors' letter, but on its website, the union said that "in non-union auto plants across America, especially in the South, autoworkers are standing up to win a better life on and off the job.
"This is a homegrown movement of Southern autoworkers who are joining the UAW by the thousands," the UAW said in a statement. "The movement began this fall, inspired by UAW members at the Big Three who showed that the industry's record profits should mean record contracts for the workers who make them."
While unionized automakers have had some layoffs this year, the non-union Tesla announced Monday it plans to lay off 10% of its workforce to cut costs, cutting 14,000 jobs in the biggest auto industry cutback so far this year in Austin, Texas.
(READ MORE: UAW viewed more favorably than unfavorably in Tennessee, new poll says)
The letter opposing the UAW unionization was also signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves.
The governors said in their statement that "when employees have a direct relationship with their employers, that makes for a more positive working environment.
"They can advocate for themselves and what is important to them without outside influence," the Republican governors said.
This is a developing story. Stay with the Times Free Press for updates.
— Compiled by Dave Flessner