President Barack Obama has reportedly had some things to say about the threats issued by Tennessee Republicans over the outcome of a union representation election at a Chattanooga Volkswagen plant. Sen. Bob Corker
claimed VW would expand jobs if workers voted down the union, while a state senator said the legislature
might not approve future aid for expanding a union factory. This is all while Volkswagen itself is neutral in the election! Obama is not trying to grab headlines like these Republicans, but,
at a closed-door meeting with House Democrats:
He briefly touched on the subject, saying that people in the region appear to favor the unionization plan, except for local politicians who are "are more concerned about German shareholders than American workers," the aide said.
That's actually a generous read of what Tennessee Republicans are concerned about. VW is doing just fine with strong unions in Germany; Corker and his allies' real fear appears to be that one union plant in Tennessee would lead workers to look around realize that unions could help them. This is about keeping American workers weak and scared.