NewsChannel 9 had a story about the ratification of a new contract between Volkswagen and the UAW. CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall was asked about what it might mean for the future:
“I think it turns out to be not as significant as it could have been in, certainly in a negative way, because the way I see it, the UAW didn’t get really what it wanted, which was parity and contracts with its other contracts with the big three.”
“The downside is that, you know, going forward, Volkswagen has to decide where to produce things in the future, whether to open here or at their other plant or somewhere else. And I think this, at the margin, at least makes it a little tougher to expand here in Chattanooga.”