December 01, 2013
The NYT had a piece about the use of German-style apprenticeship programs in South Carolina. At one point it noted that, while the apprenticeship program is one factor attracting German and other foreign manufacturers to the state:
“there are other reasons foreign companies have moved here. For starters, wages are lower than the national average. Even more important for many manufacturers, unions have made few inroads in South Carolina.”
It is worth noting that the German companies locating in South Carolina are used to working with unions and/or workers’ councils in Germany. In Germany, every company with more than 50 workers has a workers’ council that has input into most management decisions. In fact Volkswagen plans to set up a workers’ council in a facility in Tennessee. For at least some of these companies, escaping unions is not likely to be a major factor in their location decision.
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