Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TDEC) officials had to remind Volkswagen of Chattanooga officials that they were past due on certain reports they agreed to file in exchange for corporate welfare.
Read MoreTag: Volkswagen
Volkswagen of Chattanooga Reportedly Does Not Pay School Property Taxes
Government officials have reportedly given Volkswagen of Chattanooga a mind-boggling and generous incentives package, so much so it does not even have to pay school property taxes. This, according to Helen Burns Sharp, founder of the Chattanooga-based Accountability for Taxpayer Money. According to ATM’s website, members of the group…
Read MoreVolkswagen Chattanooga Workers Vote No on United Auto Workers
Southern Momentum, a grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers, has released a statement concerning the results of the election at the facility. Workers rejected the UAW this week by a vote of 833 to 776. “We could not be more excited about the outcome…
Read MoreExperts Say UAW Treats Volkswagen Chattanooga as Adversary
Southern Momentum, a grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers, this week responded after Automotive News reported the UAW is “disputing whether the automaker is maintaining its neutrality.” This, according to a press release the group put out this week. “Here we go again,” said Maury Nicely,…
Read MoreKey Figure Trying to Get UAW to Come to Volkswagen Chattanooga Reportedly Had to Settle Slander Suit
One of the primary people fighting for the United Auto Workers to set up shop at Volkswagen Chattanooga reportedly had to settle a slander suit for his part in a nasty mudslinging campaign in Michigan. This, according to this week’s Washington Free Beacon. Joe DiSano, a Michigan political consultant,…
Read MoreVolkswagen Chattanooga Employee Releases Testimonial Against the UAW
This week, Southern Momentum, a grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers, released the first in a series of worker testimonial videos regarding the upcoming election at the facility. “It’s time for the attacks to stop,” says Carol Gruber, a team leader at Volkswagen…
Read MoreVolkswagen’s Chattanooga Workers Speak Out Against UAW
A grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers spoke out this week against the union’s efforts to set up shop at their factory. The group, Southern Momentum, released the following statement in response to an advertisement paid for by the Center for VW Facts…
Read MoreUnited Auto Workers Step Up Efforts at Volkswagen Chattanooga
The United Auto Workers are renewing their efforts to set up shop at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant, and this time they’re seeking outside help. When asked about this, a spokesman for the Virginia-based National Right to Work Foundation said “the scandal-ridden union bosses at the UAW really have no shame…
Read MoreFight to Stop UAW at Volkswagen Chattanooga Plant Gets Underway
A plan is underway to fight efforts to unionize the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. Paydayreport.com this week profiled Rick Berman, reportedly an anti-union lawyer from New York, tasked with defeating the United Auto Workers’ efforts to unionize at Volkswagen-Chattanooga. The stakes, according to the website, are high. “A win…
Read MoreVolkswagen Hires Retired Sen. Corker’s Former Chief of Staff Womack to Handle Lobbying
Volkswagen hired Bob Corker’s former chief of staff, Todd Womack, to do lobbying on trade matters, proving that working as a public servant can pay off. Womack made the announcement Friday on Twitter: “Excited to be working with @VW.” He is president and CEO of Bridge Public Affairs, a lobbying…
Read MoreUS Regulators Charge Volkswagen, Ex-CEO With Defrauding Investors
U.S. regulators charged Volkswagen and former CEO Martin Winterkorn with defrauding investors during its massive diesel emissions scandal. The charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission come two years after the German automaker settled with the U.S. over criminal and civil charges, as the company tries to distance itself…
Read MoreElectric Cars Fizzle in Cold Weather, Even as Tennessee Tries to Prop Up Industry
Even as Tennessee government officials have a history of trying to prop up the electric car industry, members of the American Automobile Association say cold weather dramatically saps how well electric cars work. This, according to a new article on Foxbusiness.com “The data released Thursday found 20-degree weather can temporarily…
Read MoreTennessee Investments in Electric Cars Don’t Seem to Have the Best Track Record
Some research shows manufacturers of electric cars wouldn’t make a tidy profit in a pure free market system because, at least right now, there isn’t enough demand for that product. So that’s why government gets involved. Tennessee officials have done a lot this decade to help subsidize and promote electric…
Read MoreVolkswagen Reportedly Demanded Things from Tennessee Officials Before Announcing Chattanooga Electric Car Plant
Tennessee officials reportedly made concessions to Volkswagen to get the company to construct a new electric vehicle plant in Chattanooga, according to The Chattanooga Times Free Press. But, as the paper went on to say, state residents may not yet see a list of those concessions, which are apparently financial.…
Read MoreDetroit Auto Show, and Industry, Prepare for Transition
The auto industry gathered in Detroit on Sunday, on the eve of the last winter edition of North America’s premiere auto show, as carmakers grapple with a contracting market and uncertainty in the year ahead. Concerns over the health of the global economy and a US-China trade war loomed over…
Read MoreVolkswagen to Funnel $800 Million into Chattanooga Plant to Build Electric Vehicles as President Trump Pressures German Companies to Invest in America
Volkswagen will spend $800 million to expand its Chattanooga factory to become the German company’s North American hub for manufacturing electric vehicles, and the Scenic City may want to thank President Donald Trump. VW CEO Dr. Herbert Diess made the announcement at a presentation at the Detroit Auto Show Monday, TechCrunch…
Read MoreTennessee Officials Gave Volkswagen Huge Subsidies, Report Says
The state of Tennessee has thus far given Volkswagen $818.8 million in corporate subsidies, going back several years. Nissan, meanwhile, got $536.7 million. DowDuPont received $486.7 million in subsidies. These are among the latest updates from Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C.-based policy resource center that monitors corporate subsidies nationwide.…
Read MoreVolkswagen’s ‘Diesel-Gate’ Hits Tennessee As Company Plans to Dump Hundreds of Thousands of ‘Fixed’ Cars in U.S.
Will hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen diesel vehicles that have been the subject of U.S. and international criminal and civil actions after it was discovered that the vehicles had been rigged to “cheat” emissions testing soon be sold in Tennessee? It appears so, though few state or federal officials seem…
Read MoreSteve Gill Commentary: Crony Capitalism Drives the Haslam Gas Tax Plan
The Haslam Administration is doling out over $113 million in tax CUTS to some of Tennessee’s largest corporations to justify over $350 million in tax INCREASES on working Tennesseans. According to the Times Free Press, just 24 large manufacturing companies will each receive tax breaks of over a million…
Read MoreVolkswagen Apologizes, Pleads Guilty to $4.3 Billion Diesel Emissions Fraud Scheme
“A federal judge in Detroit on Friday accepted a guilty plea from Volkswagen on three federal charges connected to the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal,” the Detroit Free Press reported: However, Judge Sean Cox said he wanted more time to review the terms of a proposed settlement agreement of $4.3 billion,…
Read More