Unions by law have representation on corporate boards in Germany. Hence they can stop VW from putting any more plants in the South if they don’t like the outcome of this election.
Good old social market economy. Of course the “work councils” would prefer no overseas workers if they can’t get money out of them. VW being in third place sales-wise makes their position precarious, though, and the government can step in and put them in their place (whoops).
I’m not exactly sure German Unions are much like UAW.
I could be wrong though.
Germans tend to value craftsmanship and create programs for workers to become masters in their fields.
UAW is all about power and control.
Remember that Volkswagen was a child, originally, of the Third Reich, and as such, being the “People’s Car”, it was only right it should be assembled by “the People”, which in German bureaucratese, meant “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei”, abbreviated as NSDAP, but most popularly known as “Nazi”.
The Third Reich integrated all the labor unions into arms of the regime, and used the predisposition of the German people and their allegiance to the soil of Germany to further make the demand upon the “Volken” to see the subjugation of ALL the workers (”Arbeiter”) to the greater good of the State.
Even after the humbling defeat of the Third Reich, in their hearts, Germans still see organized unions as the salvation of their secular lives. Is it genetic or something?
If they make good money, which they probably will, they will change their minds about curtailing future investments.
“Hence they can stop VW from putting any more plants in the South if they don’t like the outcome of this election.”
Well, sucks to be them, then. In the meantime, Toyota and Hyundai can keep making (more relialble than VW) cars with their hard-working, relatively content US workers. I don’t see a problem here.
>> Hence they can stop VW from putting any more plants in the South
Won’t stop Nissan, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai...
Suck it, Volkswagen. Go ahead and lose to your right-thinking competition. After all, you’re not a business so much as a social welfare org.
“Unions by law have representation on corporate boards in Germany.”
They do NOT have representation on the Corporate Board of Directors, but on a separate “Works Council.”
It is advisory only. But Europe goes about the business, without the adversarial relationship typified by unions and management in the US.