Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)

Also on the list of those subpoenaed were Bill Hagerty, the state's commissioner of economic and community development; state House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, state Sen. Bo Watson; House Speaker Beth Harwell; Matt Patterson, president of the Center for Worker Freedom; and some Chattanooga officials. The UAW claims that these elected officials interfered with the union vote by making public comments, including some that seemed to indicate Volkswagen could lose incentive money if the union vote was successful.

As the UAW appeals the narrow vote against union representation at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant, it has sent subpoenas to several of the politicians —including Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam—and anti-union groups that it argues helped intimidate workers away from union support:Southern Momentum, one of the anti-union groups to get subpoenas, will be challenging them , possibly delaying the scheduled April 21 hearing—aside from the group's desire to avoid having the UAW and the National Labor Relations Board see its documents, delay is a very common weapon of anti-union campaigns. Documents have already emerged showing that Haslam threatened $300 million in subsidies if the workers unionized.