1. a) What is the UAW?
b) By how many votes did workers turn down unionizing their VW plant in Chattanooga, TN?

2. a) What made this loss such a bitter defeat? (Why was the fact that the union lost such an unexpected defeat?) What factors contributed to an almost certain win for the UAW?
b) This is reported by many media outlets as a close election. Would you agree? Explain your answer.

3. a) What did the UAW blame for their loss?
b) What do you think of this accusation? Do you think these groups influenced the vote among VW employees?

4. What would have been especially significant about a win for the union in Chattanooga?

5. a) What did Germany's IG Metall union press Volkswagen management to do (and not do) prior to the employee vote?
b) What must the UAW do now that they lost?

6. a) What is a works council?
b) Why can't VW have one at its Chattanooga plant?

7. a) In spite of all the factors favoring the union, why do you think it was voted down by the workers?
b) What are some of the reasons workers had for voting against the union?

8. In response to the union defeat in Tennessee, Volkswagen's top labor representative threatened on Wednesday to try to block further investments by the German carmaker in the southern United States if its workers there are not unionized. VW's 20-member supervisory board - evenly split between labor and management - has to approve any decision on closing plants or building new ones. "I can imagine fairly well that another VW factory in the United States, provided that one more should still be set up there, does not necessarily have to be assigned to the south again," said Bernd Osterloh, head of VW's works council and member of the supervisory board.
What is your reaction to Mr. Osterlah's threat? (Do you support his push for workers unionizing as the only way to allow other plants be built in the South?)