memeorandum: Workers at Tennessee Volkswagen factory reject United Auto Workers union (Associated Press)

11:05 AM ET, February 15, 2014

Top Items:

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Volkswagen Vote is Defeat for Labor in South — CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In a defeat for organized labor in the South, employees at the Volkswagen plant here voted 712 to 626 against joining the United Automobile Workers. — The loss is an especially stinging blow for U.A.W. because Volkswagen …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wonkblog, Outside the Beltway and Taylor Marsh

Detroit Free Press:

VW workers in Tennessee reject UAW in devastating defeat for union — CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — The UAW suffered a devastating defeat at Volkswagen's plant here as workers rejected union representation by a 712-626 margin. — The defeat, which came despite Volkswagen's neutrality …

Discussion: CNN, Scared Monkeys, Times Free Press, americanthinker.com and Power Line

Reuters:

Obama weighs in on contentious union vote at Volkswagen plant — (Reuters) - P resident Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG's plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers.

Discussion: Hot Air, WFPL, Talking Points Memo and The Gateway Pundit

Bill McMorris / Washington Free Beacon:

UAW Loses at VW — Workers at a Tennessee automobile plant rejected the United Auto Workers union's bid to break into the right-to-work state on Friday. — The plant rejected the UAW's attempt to unionize the plant 712 to 626, despite an aggressive campaign by the labor group and the cooperation of Volkswagen.

Discussion: BizPac Review

Associated Press:

Workers at Tennessee Volkswagen factory reject United Auto Workers union — July 31, 2012: An employee works on a Passat sedan at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.AP — CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee have voted against union representation …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Independent Journal Review and Times Free Press

Bernie Woodall / Reuters:

Tennessee Volkswagen plant votes against union in UAW defeat — (Reuters) - In a stinging defeat that could accelerate the decades-long decline of the United Auto Workers, employees voted against union representation at Volkswagen AG's Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, which had been seen …

Neal E. Boudette / Wall Street Journal:
Union Suffers Big Loss at Tennessee VW Plant

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

High cost of an ego trip — Very few Americans know how close the country came to catastrophe this week. — The final tally shows that the Senate voted by a wide margin Wednesday, 67 to 31, to break Sen. Ted Cruz's filibuster of an increase in the debt limit, thus avoiding a default on the United States' full faith and credit.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo and The Hugh Hewitt Show

Bloomberg:
Cruz Senate Stunt Goes Unpunished as Old Tools Don't Work

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Ed Driscoll and CNN

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Angry at Ted Cruz, Republicans should remember what he represents

Discussion: The Hill, Little Green Footballs, Courier-Journal, ABC News, BREITBART.COM and The Daily Caller

Ed Rogers / PostPartisan:

The Insiders: The IRS, the Democrats' cat's paw — Encouraged by the lack of a public backlash, an uninquisitive press, cover from the White House and an eager-to-please bureaucracy, the Democrats are boldly counting on the IRS to be their political and policy enforcer.This statement …

Discussion: Right Wing News

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

Innovation, Optimism and Jobs — Is digital technology destroying middle-class jobs? Does it exacerbate income inequality? Does it boost economic growth and productivity — without creating the jobs that ought to come with economic growth? — Last month I gave space to a book titled …

Tim Murphy / Mother Jones:

Obama's Tea Party Cousin Who's Running for Senate Compared President to Hitler — ...and he has the backing of a top national conservative group. — Wolf for Senate — Milton Wolf is a tea party Republican in Kansas challenging incumbent conservative GOP Sen. Pat Roberts …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, The Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Valerie Jarrett / The White House:

Thank You, Edie Windsor — On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. The case was United States v. Windsor, and it was filed by a woman named Edie Windsor who had to pay nearly $400,000 in federal estate taxes after her wife …

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Advocate

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Obama ambassador nominees prompt an uproar with bungled answers, lack of ties — A century-old debate over whether presidents should reward political donors and allies by making them ambassadors has flared again following a string of embarrassing gaffes by President Obama's picks.

Discussion: dallasmorningviewsblog …, The Fix and Outside the Beltway

Slate:

It's Over: Gay Marriage Can't Lose in the Courts — A perfect record for equality post-Windsor. … — Mildred Loving, “Loving for All” — Last night, only days after hearing oral arguments in the case, a Virginia federal judge struck down the state ban on same-sex marriage …