On Feb. 14, workers at Volkswagen’s assembly plant in Chattanooga, TN, voted to reject representation by the United Auto Workers. The vote—712 against vs. 626 in favor—was a devastating blow to the UAW, which had spent the past two years trying to organize the facility. Since VW was surprisingly open to the organizing effort, the factory was seen as the UAW’s best chance to win over a foreign-owned assembly plant in the South.
The election attracted national attention from politicians and organizations both for and against the UAW. Weeks before the vote, billboards and other advertisements sought to influence public opinion. Some of Tennessee’s elected officials—notably U.S. Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam—were stridently opposed to the union. The latter even threatened to withhold future incentives for VW if the union was successful.