VW lawyer: Automaker has deals in place outside TN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Volkswagen warned Tennessee officials during difficult negotiations over incentives to expand the automaker’s Chattanooga plant that the company has already secured offers to build a new SUV elsewhere.
Volkswagen attorney Alex Leath in a Jan. 27 email to the state Department of Economic and Community Development said “non-deal” issues were causing delays in completing the deal in Tennessee, an allusion to a dispute over whether the United Auto Workers would represent workers at the plant.
Republican leaders in the state oppose the UAW gaining a foothold with Volkswagen, and some warned that the state Legislature could reject incentives if the UAW were to organize the plant.
The UAW ultimately lost a union vote at the plant in February, and on Monday abandoned an appeal of the outcome.
