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UAW flattened by a Volkswagen

DrJohn

Having destroyed Detroit, the United Auto Workers union is desperate to infect foreign auto manufacturing plants in the South. It finally managed to force a vote on unionization in Chattanooga and the UAW hit a pot hole.

Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., have rejected the United Auto Workers, shooting down the union’s hopes of securing a foothold at a foreign-owned auto plant in the South.

The vote was 712 to 626, said the UAW, which blamed the loss on “politicians and outside special interest groups.”

The vote, announced late Friday night after three days of balloting, is a devastating loss for the UAW, whose membership has plummeted from a high of 1.5 million in 1979 to around 400,000 today. Outgoing UAW President Bob King had staked his legacy on organizing a Southern auto plant for the first time.

But the decision is a triumph for Tennessee Republicans like Sen. Bob Corker, who lured Volkswagen to Chattanooga as mayor in the early 2000s. Corker and other Republicans warned workers that the UAW’s presence would irreparably harm the plant, and in recent days he claimed — with little evidence — that Volkswagen would choose not to expand the plant if workers unionized.

“Needless to say, I am thrilled for the employees at Volkswagen and for our community and its future,” Corker said in a brief statement Friday night.

Union leaders, who poured millions of outside union dollars into a failed effort to unseat Scott Walker in Wisconsin, whined about outside money.

In a statement, the UAW blamed the conservative groups and Tennessee Republicans for their stinging defeat, with UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel saying that “politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that would grow jobs in Tennessee.”
“While we’re outraged by politicians and outside special interest groups interfering with the basic legal right of workers to form a union, we’re proud that these workers were brave and stood up to the tremendous pressure from outside,” UAW Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Williams said. “We hope this will start a larger discussion about workers’ right to organize.”

It was also a rebuke for Barack Obama who had weighed in on the vote.

But let’s be honest about unions. Unions used to exist for workers’ benefits. Now they exist solely as a means to funnel workers’ wages into the pockets of democrats and democrat issues. Liberals whine a lot about the influence of the Koch brothers, but the Koch’s are pikers in contrast to the money spent by liberals and unions. From Open Secrets:

candidates or outside spending groups and PACs not affiliated with either party.
Rank Organization Total ’89-’12 Dem % Repub % Tilt
1 ActBlue $97,192,340 99% 0%                                      
2 American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $60,667,379 81% 1%                   
3 AT&T Inc $56,449,317 41% 57%
4 National Education Assn $53,594,488 61% 4%
5 National Assn of Realtors $51,207,902 44% 47%
6 Goldman Sachs $44,847,951 53% 44%
7 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $44,478,789 92% 1%                                      
8 United Auto Workers $41,667,858 71% 0%                   
9 Carpenters & Joiners Union $39,260,371 74% 9%                   
10 Service Employees International Union $38,395,690 84% 2%                   
11 Laborers Union $37,494,010 85% 7%                   
12 American Federation of Teachers $36,713,325 89% 0%                   
13 Communications Workers of America $36,188,135 86% 0%                   
14 Teamsters Union $36,123,209 88% 5%                   
15 JPMorgan Chase & Co $34,527,277 48% 51%
16 United Food & Commercial Workers Union $33,756,550 86% 0%                   
17 United Parcel Service $32,214,128 35% 64%
18 Citigroup Inc $32,198,122 48% 50%
19 National Auto Dealers Assn $31,818,910 31% 68%
20 Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union $31,313,097 98% 1%                                      
21 EMILY’s List $31,267,654 98% 0%                                      
22 American Bankers Assn $31,135,202 36% 63%
23 AFL-CIO $30,938,977 61% 3%
24 American Medical Assn $29,990,879 40% 59%
25 Microsoft Corp $29,245,015 55% 43%
26 National Beer Wholesalers Assn $28,976,510 35% 64%
27 Blue Cross/Blue Shield $28,491,678 36% 63%
28 General Electric $27,741,628 47% 51%
29 National Assn of Home Builders $27,509,880 34% 65%
30 Lockheed Martin $27,246,173 42% 57%
31 Bank of America $26,822,749 41% 57%
32 National Assn of Letter Carriers $26,106,359 84% 9%                   
33 Morgan Stanley $26,074,770 42% 56%
34 Verizon Communications $25,490,499 40% 59%
35 Deloitte LLP $24,979,333 35% 63%
36 Time Warner $24,463,922 72% 25%                   
37 Newsweb Corp $24,387,371 41% 0%
38 Credit Union National Assn $24,056,155 47% 51%
39 Plumbers & Pipefitters Union $23,886,248 85% 4%                   
40 Altria Group $23,750,298 28% 70%                   
41 Ernst & Young $23,114,243 42% 57%
42 Operating Engineers Union $23,036,848 82% 14%                   
43 International Assn of Fire Fighters $22,963,260 79% 16%                   
44 American Hospital Assn $22,909,326 52% 46%
45 PricewaterhouseCoopers $22,461,596 35% 64%
46 Sheet Metal Workers Union $22,372,978 95% 2%                                      
47 American Dental Assn $21,791,508 44% 54%
48 Boeing Co $21,502,737 46% 52%
49 UBS AG $21,354,742 40% 58%
50 Comcast Corp $20,603,390 57% 42%
51 AFLAC Inc $19,822,809 43% 56%
52 National Rifle Assn $19,771,191 17% 82%                   
53 Pfizer Inc $19,699,869 35% 64%
54 Northrop Grumman $19,633,964 42% 57%
55 Union Pacific Corp $19,617,968 27% 72%                   
56 Air Line Pilots Assn $19,538,047 83% 16%                   
57 Honeywell International $19,447,557 44% 54%
58 Natl Assn/Insurance & Financial Advisors $19,305,624 41% 58%
59 Koch Industries                         $18,083,948 8% 90%                                      
60 American Postal Workers Union $17,957,308 86% 2%                   
61 American Assn for Justice $17,581,358 80% 3%                   
62 FedEx Corp $17,506,083 39% 60%
63 Ironworkers Union $17,386,345 92% 6%                                      
64 Club for Growth                         $17,271,352 0% 95%                                      
65 Credit Suisse Group $17,191,340 41% 57%
66 United Transportation Union $17,096,750 87% 11%                   
67 New York Life Insurance $16,898,487 49% 50%
68 Raytheon Co                             $16,864,289 44% 55%
69 National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn $16,552,363 47% 52%
70 General Dynamics $16,549,202 46% 53%
71 Akin, Gump et al                        $16,463,510 61% 37%
72 United Steelworkers $16,426,444 99% 0%                                      
73 American Institute of CPAs $15,952,635 41% 58%
74 National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $15,883,050 77% 20%                   
75 Chevron $15,826,864 19% 64%
76 Anheuser-Busch $15,612,613 48% 51%
77 Reynolds American $15,574,198 22% 77%                   
78 Exxon Mobil $15,220,537 13% 85%                   
79 KPMG LLP                       $15,112,328 34% 65%
80 National Cable & Telecommunications Assn $15,048,560 47% 51%
81 DLA Piper $14,902,117 68% 31%
82 Merrill Lynch $14,865,217 37% 62%
83 Wal-Mart Stores $14,851,004 32% 67%
84 GlaxoSmithKline $14,625,493 30% 69%
85 CSX Corp $14,118,661 34% 65%
86 Walt Disney Co $14,104,107 68% 30%
87 News Corp $13,917,083 58% 41%
88 American Financial Group $13,910,355 15% 73%                   
89 Indep Insurance Agents & Brokers/America $13,731,200 34% 64%
90 American Health Care Assn               $13,727,858 51% 48%
91 Wells Fargo $13,639,116 36% 61%
92 Associated Builders & Contractors       $13,577,082 1% 98%                                      
93 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance     $13,565,554 38% 60%
94 University of California                $13,552,056 89% 9%                   
95 American Crystal Sugar $13,309,209 61% 37%
96 WPP Group $13,257,197 53% 45%
97 American Society of Anesthesiologists $13,166,537 41% 58%
98 Prudential Financial $13,051,316 49% 50%
99 Southern Co $12,973,439 29% 70%                   
100 National Restaurant Assn $12,605,181 16% 83%                   
101 Securities Industry & Financial Mkt Assn $12,438,248 40% 59%
102 Human Rights Campaign $12,148,422 89% 8%                   
103 MetLife Inc $12,038,047 51% 47%
104 American Optometric Assn                $12,034,433 57% 42%
105 Home Depot $11,900,495 25% 74%                   
106 American Academy of Ophthalmology $11,895,708 50% 49%
107 Natl Active & Retired Fed Employees Assn $11,802,200 78% 21%                   
108 Saban Capital Group                     $11,683,172 89% 0%                   
109 Eli Lilly & Co $11,651,455 31% 67%
110 United Technologies $11,577,894 45% 52%
111 General Motors $11,281,497 38% 60%
112 Associated General Contractors $11,198,897 14% 85%                   
113 Painters & Allied Trades Union $11,081,080 85% 12%                   
114 National Assn of Broadcasters $11,051,822 44% 55%
115 American Maritime Officers $11,019,831 46% 53%
116 UST Inc $10,930,093 22% 77%                   
117 Ford Motor Co                           $10,739,089 38% 60%
118 Skadden, Arps et al $10,700,094 77% 22%                   
119 BellSouth Corp $10,680,784 43% 56%
120 AIG $10,548,621 49% 50%
121 Seafarers International Union $10,449,415 83% 15%                   
122 Exelon Corp $10,448,670 43% 56%
123 National Cmte to Preserve Social Security & Medicare $10,391,306 82% 17%                   
124 Independent Community Bankers of America $10,367,285 42% 57%
125 Amway/Alticor Inc $10,312,313 0% 97%                                      
126 Freddie Mac $10,294,709 43% 56%
127 MBNA Corp $10,282,913 16% 83%                   
128 Patton Boggs LLP                        $10,134,606 71% 27%                   
129 American Airlines $10,071,131 43% 55%
130 American Trucking Assns                 $9,975,648 27% 72%                   
131 American Physical Therapy Assn          $9,795,983 49% 50%
132 Lehman Brothers $9,729,764 52% 46%
133 Blackstone Group                        $9,658,975 46% 51%
134 National Fedn of Independent Business   $9,616,283 6% 93%                                      
135 Greenberg Traurig LLP $9,546,903 62% 37%
136 Transport Workers Union                 $9,531,899 95% 4%                                      
137 American Council of Life Insurers $9,454,728 38% 61%
138 Amalgamated Transit Union               $9,453,918 93% 6%                                      
139 Harvard University                      $9,436,590 87% 12%                   
140 Archer Daniels Midland $9,394,067 42% 57%
141 Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn $9,337,413 43% 56%
142 Fannie Mae                              $9,140,977 53% 46%
143 National Rural Letter Carriers Assn     $9,021,100 71% 28%                   
144 Wachovia Corp $8,575,944 30% 69%
145 National Cmte for an Effective Congress $8,447,690 99% 0%                                      
146 Interpublic Group $8,286,183 66% 32%
147 Marine Engineers Beneficial Assn $8,155,379 73% 25%                   
148 Bristol-Myers Squibb $7,926,699 23% 76%                   
149 MCI Inc $7,659,226 45% 54%
150 Bear Stearns                            $7,280,973 55% 43%
151 BP $6,843,520 30% 69%
152 Enron Corp $6,544,528 28% 71%                   
153 Andersen $6,267,045 37% 62%
154 Vivendi $6,037,717 60% 33%
155 MGM Resorts International $5,831,055 45% 47%
156 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp $5,089,791 39% 60%

As you can see, the Koch brothers are a paltry #59.  Liberals dominate political donations. They’ll just have to do with a little less now.

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