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United Steelworkers of America Have Some Lofty Goals


Recently, the United Steelworkers of America held its annual convention and vowed to enact certain changes in the labor structure of America.  A few are nothing out of the ordinary, such as workers should have access to neutral voting locations and workers should have a right to a representation election within 30 days of filing a petition for one.  

However, the one that really jumped out at me was the goal to unseat Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee who spoke out against the UAW's presence at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant.  For those who do not remember, earlier this year, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Cattanooga voted on whether to unionize.  (Volkswagen Vote - Reuters Report).  Amid the vote by the workers, Senator Corker made comments that many interpreted as influencing the vote.  Specifically, Senator Corker stated that he had "conversations" and based on those conversations was assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen would subsequently announce that it would manufacture new Volkswagens at that Chattanooga plant. 

It is no surprise that this riled the Steelworkers, so the goal to unseat him was probably a foregone conclusion, though Corker was re-elected in 2012 and will not be up for re-election until 2018.  In any event, it will be interesting to see if the Steelworkers are successful.  

Perhaps knowing the difficulty of prevailing on all of its goals, the Steelworkers did not set a date for when their goals will be met.


Additional information on the topic can be found here:  http://mattaustinlaborlaw.com/2014/09/30/steelworkers-playbook-on-how-they-plan-to-reform-labor-law/

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