IS THIS THE FUTURE FOR VW?

Donald Trump won 60.7% of the vote in Tennessee in the presidential elections of 2016 and 2020, including 54.6% in Hamilton County in 2016 and 53.6% in 2020.

We think it is reasonable to assume that at least half of Volkswagen’s employees — now totaling more than 4,000 — gave their votes to the now-former president.

Trump also captured 77.3% of Republican voters in Tennessee in the presidential primary election earlier this month, including 66.8% of GOP voters in Hamilton County.

But it’s current President Joe Biden who is telling Volkswagen employees that he is their man after United Auto Workers officials said they would be seeking an election to allow that union to represent workers at the plant.

“I congratulate the Volkswagen autoworkers in Chattanooga who filed for a union election with the UAW,” he said in a statement released by The White House Monday night. “As one of the world’s largest automakers, many Volkswagen plants internationally are unionized. As the most pro-union president in American history, I believe American workers, too, should have a voice at work. The decision whether to join a union belongs to the workers.”

The truth is Volkswagen workers have never not had a voice at work and, to date, have made their secret ballot choice as to whether to join a union. And up to now, they’ve said no.

Biden, in fact, would love to have Volkswagen plant employees vote to have the UAW represent them because that means more of the employees’ hard-earned money through union dues would come to his campaign, not Trump’s, and not remain in the pockets of employees.

According to opensecrets.com, with the exception of 2020, the percentage of UAW political contributions given to Democrats in every national election since 1990 has never been less than 98.73%.

In other words, if a VW employee supports Trump or, generally, conservative causes, their money as a union member will be working against them. How’s that for an employee benefit?

We certainly believe a future union agreement with Volkswagen like the UAW signed with Big Three automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis also could result in what happened with those car companies — layoffs.

Just two weeks after what were called “record” labor pacts last fall, Stellantis (parent company of Chrysler) announced it was cutting 2,465 jobs in Detroit and 1,225 in Toledo, Ohio. Subsequently, GM said it would indefinitely furlough 1,314 workers at two Michigan plants. Ford, in January, announced it would be cutting 1,400 jobs.

Another online publication said the layoffs at all three car makers could hit 10,000 by the end of spring.

The job cuts are, industry experts said, at least in part due to the labor contracts.

We frequently have said, and other columnists have affirmed, that unwise federal minimum wage hikes, unsound labor contracts and unfair price pressures can wind up forcing businesses to cut employees because of what they have to be paid.

Volkswagen employees who one day might find themselves with one of those pink slips may want to think about that.

They also should think about their man, Biden, “the most prounion president in American history.”

He is the same man who has unwisely set a goal for the country to have 50% of all new vehicles sold by 2030 to be electric, and his Environmental Protection Agency has proposed such deep emission cuts for new cars and trucks through 2032 that they could force two out of three new vehicles sold by that year to be electric.

We’re not opposed to electric vehicles and believe one day they’ll transform the auto industry. But we’re not they’re yet, we don’t have the infrastructure, they’re not affordable for most buyers and current car buyers don’t want them.

That’s why some of those layoffs are coming in what is supposed to be the burgeoning electric vehicle industry. Ford, for example, has cut production of its electric F-150 trucks in half. GM stopped selling its Chevy Blazer EV, a new model for the company, because of charging and software issues. And Hertz said it planned to sell off 20,000 of its rental EVs and buy more gas-powered vehicles.

Volkswagen, which has pledged to transition its entire fleet of vehicles to electric by 2030, also cut its worldwide EV production last year. A UAW contract with VW workers could cut production even further if the interest in EVs continues to flag.

VW workers on the fence or against union representation also should consider that, unlike what Biden’s statement said, they may not have a “voice” in their choice.

If a union acquires signed cards endorsing a union from more than half of its employees through an often intrusive process called “card check,” an employer can agree to recognize the union as an official representative of its workers, though it does not have to. The UAW says it already has signed cards from 70% of its VW employees.

Is the future for local VW workers political contributions given to candidates they don’t support, job cuts and coercive tactics? We can’t say for sure, but we know the chances are greater if a union is involved.