Memo to Chattanooga’s Volkswagen Employees: Unions Crush Excellence and Initiative

I s the third time the charm?

The United Auto Workers certainly hopes so, as more than 4,000 workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tenn., factory vote on whether to unionize this week. After falling short in 2014 and 2019 elections, the UAW now says a supermajority of workers have already signed cards saying they’ll vote to unionize. If they do, the Chattanooga factory will be the first southern auto plant to unionize since the 1940s. And the second factory may not be far behind, since workers at Mercedes’s Alabama plant recently filed a petition for a union election.

I can’t predict which way workers will vote, though it’s smart to take the UAW’s confidence with a grain of salt. When the union says that most workers support unionization, that’s only because the UAW was able to publicly pressure them into saying so. The process of signing cards, known as “card check,” allows union organizers to intimidate workers both on the jobsite and even at home — a system that’s famous for its abuse and threats. It’s possible that many of the workers who signed the cards actually plan to vote against the UAW this week, protected by the private ballot of the actual union election.

But I can predict what will happen if workers vote to unionize. They’ll get some short-term perks, likely in pay, benefits, or hours. But long term, they’ll stagnate, because unions are designed to stifle their own members’ incredible potential.

I say this from personal experience. As a college student in 1979, I worked in a grey-iron factory in Ohio, making small engine blocks and other component parts. My job was to use mini jackhammers and grinding tools to get the imperfections off the blocks and parts as they came off the production line. Naturally, I pushed myself to go faster with each one. I figured that if I worked hard, I’d get promoted, because I’d surely be noticed.

I was noticed — but not in the way I hoped. First, my co-workers started whispering behind my back. A few days later, my supervisor came to my stall. He motioned for me to take off my ear protection, then gave me an earful. He told me I was going too fast. Then he ordered me to keep pace with everyone else.

I could hardly believe it. My supervisor, who was supposed to help me get ahead in life, was demanding that I hold myself back. He wanted me to do less than I could do. And everyone I worked with had been given the same command. The union didn’t want us to apply ourselves — to stand out. Instead, it wanted us to do just enough — to sit back. Instead of striving to be great, the union said we should just aim for good enough.

That was 45 years ago, but in the intervening half century, little has changed about labor unions — especially the United Auto Workers. As someone who’s lived in the upper Midwest my whole life, I’ve watched the UAW systematically strangle the workers it represents. It’s a big part of the reason why the Big Three automakers have struggled so much in recent years. Their workers could be driving a new era of innovation and progress, but instead, the union has told them to hit the brakes on their own growth and fulfillment. It gives them a certain level of comfort, but at the cost of never knowing what they’re truly capable of accomplishing.

And when workers are held back, they ultimately struggle. The Big Three have endured decades of layoffs, automation, and shuttered factories, largely driven by the higher costs and lower flexibility that accompanies unionization with its inherent destruction of employee initiative. They’d be better positioned to compete if their workers were encouraged to be entrepreneurial — to make the most of their unique talents and skills. But that’s the last thing the United Auto Workers wants. Perversely, it succeeds by preventing workers from succeeding.

Is that really what the workers in Chattanooga want? How about the workers at every other southern auto plant, from Alabama to Georgia and beyond? They deserve to unlock their own potential, and if they truly want to rise and thrive for the rest of their lives, the Chattanooga workers should vote down the United Auto Workers for the third time.