Following a fierce battle between conservative groups and labor activists, workers at a Chattanooga, Tennessee, Volkswagen plant cast their final votes today on whether to allow union representation at their factory. If they vote to unionize, the Chattanooga location will become the first foreign-owned factory organized by the United Auto Workers. Nation Washington, DC, correspondent John Nichols appeared on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes to discuss the implications of the workers’ decision. The prospect of unionization and the “works committees” being planned for the plant have anti-labor politicians worried the idea could spread—so worried they’ve threatened to withhold tax incentives should the plant unionize. Nichols thinks their fear is justified: “There are a lot of folks saying [works committees] might actually sell in the south.”
—Simon Davis-Cohen