Earlier today Barack Obama weighed in on the contentious union vote – accusing Republicans who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than US workers. (What BS.)
Tonight Volkswagen workers in Tennessee rejected the United Auto Workers by a vote of 712 to 626.
Volkswagen workers at Tennessee factory reject United Auto Workers union by a vote of 712 to 626. http://t.co/hNaBnT26jX
— WSJ Breaking News (@WSJbreakingnews) February 15, 2014
The Obama curse strikes again.
Reuters reported:
President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers.
Obama’s comments, made at a closed-door meeting of Democratic lawmakers in Maryland, came as the vote to allow union representation at the Chattanooga plant drew to a close.
The vote will have wide-reaching implications for the auto industry in the South, where all foreign-owned assembly plants employ nonunion labor, and for the United Auto Workers union, which could use a victory to reverse a decades-long downward spiral.
The vote has faced fierce resistance from local Republican politicians and national conservative groups who have warned that a UAW victory could hurt economic growth in Tennessee. While voting was under way on Wednesday, Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker said VW could announce new investment in the plant if the UAW lost the secret ballot.