Labor Unions in Germany and Co-determination

In the United States, labor unions are at a gradual decline due to laws such as Right to Work laws and the curtailing of collective bargaining rights which are all legislated by Republicans in office. In Germany however, labor unions are much more influential in politics and in the management of companies. This is called co-determination, in which work councils that represent workers in large companies are given a seat in the Board of Directors of a company. It gives workers representation in the decision-making process of a company. It also gives labor unions a significant amount of power in German politics.

This kind of labor organizing has now reached Tennessee where Volkswagen factory workers who are members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) are trying to create their own work council just like their German counterparts. The state government opposes the move because the GOP opposes any kind of labor union organizing even though Volkswagen as a company welcomes the proposal. VW wants the workers to have a work council, but the state of Tennessee doesn't.

Should VW workers be allowed to create their own work council? According to Tennessee, NO! They are now threatening to withhold tax incentives to VW if they allowed UAW to create work councils.

According to the linked article: “Our works councils are key to our success and productivity. It is a business model that helped to make Volkswagen the second largest car company in the world,” Frank Fischer, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga said in a statement.