Springfield, VA (April 1, 2013) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, has issued the following statement in response to recent media reports that United Auto Worker (UAW) union and Volkswagen AG (VOW.DE) officials are in talks to unionize the VW workers at the Chattanooga, Tennessee plant:

"Recent media reports suggest that UAW union officials are working to negotiate the workplace conditions of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga employees even though the workers are not represented by the UAW union hierarchy.

"The National Right to Work Foundation has seen again and again the UAW union hierarchy pressure companies to cut backroom deals designed to push workers into union ranks whether the employees like it or not. For example, UAW officials vetoed pay increases and secretly pre-negotiated bargaining concessions at the expense of Freightliner workers in North and South Carolina in exchange for company assistance in unionizing the workers.

"Whenever UAW union officials have brokered secret agreements with companies, history shows that workers often end up with a raw deal. Volkswagen workers may suffer the same fate.

"National Right to Work attorneys have assisted workers across the country who have suffered the consequences of these top-down organizing campaign designed by UAW union officials.

"Workers who feel they are being unfairly pressured when deciding whether or not to associate with the UAW union may request free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys by calling 1-800-336-3600 or on the Foundation’s website at www.nrtw.org."

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.