My POV: I have been a resident of Tennessee for half my life. I have been in Chattanooga since VW first began rolling vehicles off their local lines. Additional

My POV: I have been a resident of Tennessee for half my life. I have been in Chattanooga since VW first began rolling vehicles off their local lines. Additionally, I have experience both independent and as a union electrician (IBEW). I live in a lower middle class neighborhood, within 1 mile of VW's Tenn facility [so many of my neighbors work at VW]. I've had many clients employed by VW. >why is this great? VW's Chattanooga operation has been notorious for last-minute "mandatory overtime," ignoring legitimate health&safety concerns, and not actually paying that well for our local economy (despite what HQ claims). I think the greatest thing that will come of this is MUCH better healthcare for VW families [@IBEW, benefits cost the same whether 1 or 10 dependents — they actually don't suck (albeit not incredible)]. Quality of life will also improve by having safeguards in place to prevent (e.g.) forced overtime and unplanned scheduling. -- My rhetorical question about unions is this: if they really were so bad for employees, why would companies spend so much [and sometimes violate laws] attempting to prevent union organization efforts. -- To me, the greatest thing about this particular VW unionizing news is that it marks a change in demographics, here in the Deep South. People are beginning to realize just how fucked inequality entitles them [i.e. not much], so are organizing their greatest asset: time/labor.