House Majority Leader Gerald McCormickA top Republican in the Tennessee General Assembly says he expects his colleagues to approve the state share of a $300 million incentive package for Volkswagen despite misgivings about the role of the United Auto Workers union at the German automaker's plant in Chattanooga.
House Republican leader Gerald McCormick says he agrees with some colleagues that the UAW should not, in his words, "slip in the back door because of a secret deal with Volkswagen."
But McCormick nevertheless expects his colleagues to approve the deal struck to ensure the production of a new SUV at the plant and the creation of 2,000 jobs. In McCormick's words: "Tennessee will keep its promises."
The UAW has qualified under a new labor policy at the VW plant that stops short of collective bargaining.
Some state legislators from Hamilton County last week stopped short of predicting passage of the incentives for the plant expansion in the wake of UAW gains at the factory.
VW plans to build a new midsize SUV at the plant, investing $900 million in the project and employing another 2,000 workers.