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NLRB to Hear Evidence of Illegal Activity by Tennessee Governor and Senator in Volkswagen Election

It seems that U.S. Senator Bob Corker and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam may have been a little too clever in their campaign to intimidate auto workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga from voting for union representation.

Documents leaked to "NewsChannel 5 Investigates," a Chattanooga, Tenn., news program, provide conclusive proof that the Haslam administration wanted a say in the automaker's deal with organized labor – in exchange for $300 million in economic incentives to help VW expand its Chattanooga operations.

Now, Haslam faces a possible investigation by the state legislature about his actions and interference in the union election.

And Senator Corker isn't in the clear either. The NewsChannel 5 investigation reported that: "But we also obtained emails that show that Senator Corker's chief of staff was in direct contact with anti-union organizers who were brought in to fight the UAW. He then shared those emails with people in the Haslam administration who were in charge of the incentives."

The United Auto Workers has cited this new evidence as part of a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to throw out the election results. By a narrow margin, the bid for union representation didn't succeed. An NLRB administrative law judge will hear the petition and call for a new election at a hearing in Chattanooga on April 21.