This article was co-written with Margaret Mire.
Eric Wilson is a Maintenance Specialist at Volkswagen, Chattanooga. He is also a veteran.
Wilson served in U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry from 1978 to 1980 in Germany, running border operations along the Iron Curtain. Wilson, like thousands of Americans, volunteered to protect not only American democracy, but also the fragile democracy of West Germany at a time when Soviet tanks and ballistic missiles were aimed right at his head.
Which makes it an unhappy irony that Wilson now feels he is a victim of Germans subverting the democratic process – right here in America.
Wilson was one of the first hired at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga assembly plant in 2010. He watched as the production facility come to life and began turning out Passat sedans.
When the United Auto Workers (UAW) began its aggressive organizing drive at the plant not long after it opened, Wilson largely sat out of the incendiary debate that engulfed his workplace and community. As a specialist, Wilson was ineligible to vote in the National Labor Relations Board-supervised representation election that took place in February 2014.
The union lost that vote, 712-626, on Valentine’s Day last year.
When the company gave limited recognition to the UAW anyway, Wilson became incensed. True, UAW Local 42 was not an exclusive bargaining agent under federal labor law when it was recognized by the company late last year. But Wilson saw it as an insidious and treacherous move on the company’s part nonetheless.
Wilson began voicing his displeasure in the comment sections of Facebook and local media outlets. One co-worker, a UAW supporter, according to Wilson in an interview with the Center for Worker Freedom, not-so-subtlety threatened him for speaking his mind, telling Wilson, “The union can make things very difficult for you.”
Earlier this year, when it became obvious that state legislators were set to give Volkswagen more tax breaks — in spite of the company’s betrayal of its workers — Wilson wrote a letter to every single state legislator urging them to reconsider, telling them:
“I understand there are a lot of jobs on the line. I benefited from the first round [of incentives]. But, I do struggle with the thought of sacrificing a federally recognized democratic vote for money.”
Soon after the letter was reported on by local press, Wilson was hauled into his HR department and interrogated about what he had written. He was then informed he was suspended until further notice for violating VW media policy.
He says he was also threatened with arrest if he stopped by his desk to retrieve personal items on his way out.
A spokesman for Volkswagen, reached for comment on February 25, could not discuss the particulars of Eric Wilson’s case, but did confirm that he had been suspended. When pressed to elaborate on VW’s media policy, the spokesman noted that workers on both sides of the union issue had been given wide latitude to comment in the press.
As of this writing, Eric Wilson was still uncertain of his fate. What he is certain of is that no one who spoke out for the UAW received similar sanction. When asked if he had been disciplined for other reasons previously, Wilson insisted he had a spotless performance record and had never before been disciplined by VW for any reason.
Meanwhile, Tennessee lawmakers will be voting this session on part of a $300 million tax incentives package for Volkswagen (in addition to the over $500 million in tax incentives the company has already received ). This new package would be used to increase production capacity.
New jobs are great, of course. But does Volkswagen deserve so much public largesse after ignoring the wishes of its workers as clearly expressed in a democratic election? And why exactly does it need tax dollars to expand the plant?
The UAW was voted out, but VW opened the door for the union anyway. Eric Wilson, like all veterans, dedicated his life to preserve freedom.
Is this what he fought for?
Matt Patterson is the Executive Director, Center for Worker Freedom, at Americans for Tax Reform. Margaret Mire is Research Fellow at CWF.