Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp on Monday urged Volkswagen Chattanooga workers to vote against aligning with the United Auto Workers, calling the union a corrupt and hyper-political operation.
Editor’s Note: Much like the city government of Chattanooga
“The UAW is a sinking ship,” the Republican mayor said standing outside the Volkswagen plant with several other Republican state and local officials.
State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, also criticized the Detroit-based union, saying it has “a dubious track record.”
He said voting against the UAW is protecting “Tennessee values.”
But union supporter Victor Vaughn, a VW logistics team member at the plant, said in a telephone interview after the news conference that what the public officials think is right “is not the right thing to do in our case.”
“This is not a UAW-driven campaign,” he said. “They’re helping guide us. It’s the employees inside the plant asking for this. They are hard-working people.”
Vaughn said the political leaders should “talk to us before they come out with statements.”
Concerning remarks about union corruption, he said while things happened in the past, the UAW has new leadership in President Shawn Fain. He said Fain is “truly the working-class peoples’ president.”