VW threatens to block any future expansion plans in the South, citing conservative interference

[Xithras]

28. Because the union workers in the other plants aren't going to let Americans undercut them.

The American manufacturing plant is small potatoes in VW's global business, and most American VW's are either built in Germany or in their primary North American plant in Mexico (where they have been built since the 1960's). The workers in ALL of the other VW plants are unionized...even the low wage Mexican workers have a union to represent them.

If the Americans don't have a union and are willing to work for peanuts, then there's a risk that VW could shift more work to them to cut costs. That puts the workers in the other plants at risk. Considering the relatively small output of the American plant, there is NO WAY Volkswagen will risk a labor dispute in their major plants over it. If the labor unions in Germany and Mexico say "No more manufacturing in America", Volkswagen isn't going to fight them for it.

The 'thugs have just put VW's U.S. plant into an adversarial relationship with the rest of the company.