The anti-union South is starting to crack

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New York (CNN) —For five decades, the southern United States has been an attractive location for foreign automakers to open plants thanks to generous tax breaks and cheaper, non-union labor.Now, the United Auto Workers has dealt a serious blow to that model: winning a landslide union victory after decades of failing to unionize automakers in the South.The UAW easily won a historic victory Friday at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with 73% of workers voting in favor of the union. It’s the UAW’s first win in trying to represent workers at a foreign car manufacturing plant in the South.While a single win won’t alter the union landscape in the South overnight, labor experts say the Tennessee victory may be a turning point in the least unionized part of the United States. (South Carolina and North Carolina have the lowest union rates in the US; Louisiana is the sixth-lowest.)For one, it may provide momentum for current union drives at foreign auto plants in the South and spill over into organizing efforts in other industries, said Stephen Silvia, a professor at American University and author of “The UAW’s Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Vehicle Plants.”The UAW’s win at Volkswagen “itself will...

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