Tennessee

UAW celebrates breakthrough win in Tennessee and takes aim at more auto plants in the South

Published

7 months ago

April 20, 2024

UAW celebrates breakthrough win in Tennessee and takes aim at more auto plants in the South

By DAVID KOENIG | AP Business Writer

DALLAS — The United Auto Workers’ overwhelming election victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee is giving the union hope that it can make broader inroads in the South, the least unionized part of the country.

The UAW won a stunning 73% of the vote at VW after losing elections in 2014 and 2019. It was the union’s first win in a Southern assembly plant owned by a foreign automaker.

Union President Shawn Fain said the pundits all told him that the UAW couldn’t win in the South.

“But you all said, ‘Watch this,’ ” he told a cheering group of VW organizers at a union hall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Friday night, when the UAW victory was clear. “You guys are leading the way. We’re going to carry this fight on to Mercedes and everywhere else.”

Volkswagen automobile plant employee LaShawn Hawthorne, center left, takes picture with UAW president Shawn Fain after workers voted to join the union Friday, April 19, 2024, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

However, the UAW is likely to face a tougher test as it tries to represent workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A five-day election is scheduled to start May 13, where the union’s campaign has already become heated.

The UAW has accused the German carmaker of violating U.S. and German labor laws with aggressive anti-union tactics, which the company denies.

“They are going to have a much harder road in work sites where they are going to face aggressive management resistance and even community resistance than they faced in Chattanooga,” said Harry Katz, a labor-relations professor at Cornell University. “VW management did not aggressively seek to avoid unionization. Mercedes is going to be a good test. It’s the deeper South.”

Volkswagen automobile plant employee Vicky Holloway becomes emotional as she celebrates after employees voted to join the UAW union Friday, April 19, 2024, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Late last year, the UAW announced a drive to represent nearly 150,000 workers at non-union factories largely in the South. The union is targeting U.S. plants run by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, along with factories operated by electric-vehicle makers Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.

The union’s last defeat at VW in Chattanooga came at a low-water mark — in the middle of a federal investigation into bribery and embezzlement under a previous president.

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who studies the UAW, said the union flipped the script by installing new leadership, touting the rich contracts it won last year from Detroit automakers after strikes at targeted factories, and exploiting a climate that is now more favorable to unions. He said the union was also adept at translating signed pro-union authorization cards into votes — partly by pushing for a quick election.

“Now the public and media eyes are going to be on Chattanooga and how quickly the UAW can translate this into a contract,” he said. If the union can’t quickly get a good contract, it risks losing some of the momentum it gained with Friday’s election win, he said.

UAW president Shawn Fain signs an autograph for Volkswagen automobile plant employee Rachel Gleeson after workers voted to join the union Friday, April 19, 2024, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Unions in other industries are already moving ahead with organizing campaigns in the South and trying to learn from the UAW’s playbook.

The Association of Flight Attendants, which has tried and failed to win over cabin crews at Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, hopes to collect enough signatures to force another election at Delta by year end. The union’s president, Sara Nelson, said she was not surprised at the UAW win after strikes that led to record contracts last year.

“I’ve been talking about this for a long time — that strikes and taking on the boss is going to spur organizing, and that’s exactly what we saw here,” Nelson said.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain speaks to Volkswagen auto workers Friday, April 19, 2024, in Chattanooga, Tenn., after workers at a VW factory voted to join the UAW. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Nelson is trying to secure an industry-leading contract at United Airlines that she can use to court Delta crews. In the meantime, crews at startup Breeze Airways, many of whom live in the South, will vote next month whether to join her union.

The White House issued a statement from President Joe Biden congratulating the UAW. Biden — who joined a UAW picket line in Michigan during the union’s strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis plants last year — praised the success of unions representing autoworkers, Hollywood actors and writers, health care workers and others in gaining better contracts.

“Together, these union wins have helped raise wages and demonstrate once again that the middle-class built America and that unions are still building and expanding the middle class for all workers,” Biden said.

Biden criticized six Southern Republican governors, including Bill Lee of Tennessee, who told autoworkers this week that voting for union representation would jeopardize jobs.

Sharon Block, a law professor at Harvard University who worked for the Biden administration on labor and other issues, said the governors’ warning rang hollow after nonunion Tesla revealed that it plans to lay off 10% of its workers after disappointing sales results. She said VW workers saw the governors’ open letter as “an empty threat and a cynical ploy,” and they ignored it.

“Workers for a long time have been told that you can’t organize in the South. And many workers, even not in the South, may work in industries where they’ve been told for a long time you can’t organize,” Block said. “What the UAW showed last night is that we need to go and rethink all those negative statements.”

Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

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Tennessee

Watch: Gretchen Walsh Cracks NCAA Record in 100 Butterfly (Tennessee Invite Day 2 Race Videos)

Published

8 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Watch: Gretchen Walsh Cracks NCAA Record in 100 Butterfly (Tennessee Invite Day 2 Race Videos)

2024 Tennessee Invite

The third day of the 2024 Tennessee Invite saw lots of action, with the unique setup of the meet, the A-finals were contested in a 1-on-1 format that brought many fans to their feet and proved to bring an extra layer of excitement to the meet. UVA’s Gretchen Walsh built on that excitement to continue her record-breaking streak, shattering her own American, US Open, and NCAA Record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.35.

Even though the day might be over, you can relive all of the action with the race videos below. Courtesy of the University of Virginia.

WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY- TIMED FINALS

NCAA Record: 1:31.73, Virginia- 2023
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.24
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:36.76

Virginia A- 1:32.58 A
Tennessee A- 1:34.35 A
Virginia B- 1:35.89
Tennessee B- 1:37.94
Kentucky A- 1:39.66
Kentucky B- 1::41.35

Race Video:

MEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY- TIMED FINALS

NCAA Record: 1:20.15, Florida- 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.62
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:23.90

Tennessee A- 1:21.71 A
Tennessee B- 1:25.31
Kentucky A- 1:26.75
Kentucky B- 1:27.48
Virginia A- DQ
Virginia B- DQ

Race Video:

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

~~NCAA Record: 47.42, Gretchen Walsh (UVA) – 2024~~ 47.35, Gretchen Walsh (UVA)- 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.52
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 53.34
2024 NCAA Cutline: 51.88

Gretchen Walsh (UVA)- 47.35 *New NCAA Record*
Claire Curzan (UVA)- 49.50 A
Josephine Fuller (TENN)- 51.51 B
Sara Stolter (TENN)- 52.15 B
Maggie Schalow (UVA)- 52.33 B
Emily Brown (TENN)- 52.85 B
Lydia Hanlon (UKY)- 53.85
Maddy Hartley (UKY)- 54.33

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

MEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

NCAA Record: 42.80, Caeleb Dressel (FLOR) – 2018
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.51
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 46.80
2024 NCAA Cutline: 45.37

Jordan Crooks (TENN)- 43.77 A
Spencer Nicholas- 44.41 A
Gui Caribe (TENN)- 45.18 B
Hayden Bellotti (UVA)- 45.85 B
Martin Espernberger (TENN)- 46.29 B
Ryan Merani (UKY)- 47.12
Simon Lins (UVA)- 47.43
Logan Ingerick (UKY)- 48.29

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

WOMEN’S 400 IM – FINALS

NCAA Record: 3:54.60, Ella Eastin (STAN) – 2018
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:03.62
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 4:16.78
2024 NCAA Cutline: 4:10.74

Leah Hayes (UVA)- 4:01.34 A
Ella Jansen (TENN)- 4:06.29 B
Ella Bathurst (UVA)- 4:09.53 B
Emma Redman (4:11.33)- 4:11.33 B
Kate McCarville (TENN)- 4:11.39 B
Emily Brown (TENN)- 4:13.17 B
Marie Bell (UKY)- 4:17.57
Fernanda De Goeij (UKY)- 4:19.56

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

MEN’S 400 IM – FINALS

NCAA Record: 3:28.82, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2023
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:38.37
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 3:49.53
2024 NCAA Cutline: 3:42.93

Levi Sandidge (UKY)- 3:42.52 B
Tony Laurito (TENN)- 3:44.06 B
Matt Styczen (UVA)- 3:44.95 B
Dillon Wright (UVA)- 3:45.45 B
Colin Bitz (UVA)- 3:46.13 B
Gus Rothrock (TENN)- 3:46.47 B
Aidan Crisci (TENN)- 3:47.84 B
Jackson Mussler (UKY)- 3:54.39

Race Videos:

A-Final

No Race Video Currently Available

B-Final

C-Final

WOMEN’S 200 FREE – FINALS

NCAA Record: 1:39.10, Missy Franklin (CAL) – 2015
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:42.60
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 1:46.85
2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:44.80

Aimee Canny (UVA)- 1:42.67 B
Camille Spink (TENN)- 1:43.57 B
Anna Moesch (UVA)- 1:43.12 B
Cavan Gormsen (UVA)- 1:44.85 B
Julia Mrozinski (TENN)- 1:45.64 B
Sara Stolter (TENN)- 1:46.33 B
Lauren West (UKY)- 1:46.46 B
Katy Jost (UKY)- 1:48.10

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

MEN’S 200 FREE – FINALS

NCAA Record: 1:28.81, Luke Hobson (TEX) – 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:31.21
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 1:35.35
2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:32.93

Nikoli Blackman (TENN)- 1:32.12
Sebastien Sergile (UVA)- 1:32.38
David King (UVA)- 1:33.19
Joaquin Vargas (TENN)- 1:34.67
Jack Stelter (TENN)- 1:35.82
Connor Boyle (UVA)- 1:36.54
Justin Peresse (UKY)- 1:36.66
Caue Gluck (UKY)- 1:36.93

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – FINALS

NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (IU) – 2019
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.01
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 1:01.22
2024 NCAA Cutline: 59.75

McKenzie Siroky (TENN)- 58:00
Aimee Canny (UVA)- 58.64
Emelie Fast (TENN)- 58.41
Emma Weber (UVA)- 58.67
Zoe Skirboll (UVA)- 59.23
Bridget Engel (UKY)- 59.83
Hannah Marinovich (TENN)- 1:00.54
Olivia Mendenhall (UKY)- 1:03.08

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

MEN’S 100 BREAST – FINALS

NCAA Record: 49.53, Liam Bell (CAL) – 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.02
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 53.43
2024 NCAA Cutline: 51.89

Noah Nichols (UVA)- 51.32 B
Adomas Gatulis (UKY)- 52.85 B
Kevin Houseman (TENN)- 53.10 B
Jed Garner (TENN)- 53.30 B
Jay Gerloff (UVA)- 53.40 B
Jonathan Rom (UKY)- 53.73
Grayson Nye (TENN)- 53.79
Matt Heilman (UVA)- 53.84

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

WOMEN’S 100 BACK – FINALS

NCAA Record: 48.10, Gretchen Walsh (UVA) – 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.66
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 53.53
2024 NCAA Cutline: 52.28

Claire Curzan (UVA)- 49.37 A
Josephine Fuller (TENN)- 51.06 B
Charlotte Wilson (UVA)- 52.01 B
Reilly Tiltmann (UVA)- 52.51 B
Lexi Stephens (TENN)- 52.55 B
Sophie Brison (TENN)- 53.21 B
Grace Frericks (UKY)- 53.47 B
Torie Buerger (UKY)- 53.83

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

MEN’S 100 BACK – FINALS

NCAA Record: 43.35, Luca Urlando (UGA) – 2022
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.48
2025 NCAA “B’ Cut: 47.16
2024 NCAA Cutline: 45.56

Results:

Harrison Lierz (TENN)- 45.25
Jack Aikins (UVA)- 45.84
Lamar Taylor (TENN)- 46.32
Nick Simons (TENN)- 46.67
Will Thompson (UVA)- 46.99
Devin Naoroz (UKY)- 47.06
Szymon Mieczkowski (UKY)-47.67
Max Berg (UKY)- 48.93

Race Videos:

A-Final

B-Final

C-Final

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Tennessee

Tennessee reading law: Less than 1% of third graders held back in 2024

Published

17 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee reading law: Less than 1% of third graders held back in 2024

Just 0.88% of Tennessee public school third graders were held back this year under the state’s controversial reading law, despite 60% of the class falling short of a state reading benchmark this spring.

With around 74,000 third graders enrolled in the 2023-24 school year statewide, that works out to 655 students who were retained, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Education. The state reading law took effect last year and led to the retention of 1.2% of third graders in 2023, which came out to 898 students.

The law primarily determines children’s reading proficiency by their English language arts scores on the standardized Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP, test.

The 60% who fell short on this year’s TCAP represent roughly 50,000 students. However, that number does not include students who were exempt from being held back. Here are those exemptions, including how many students met them:

11,468: Students with disabilities or suspected disabilities that may impact their reading
3,511: Students who are English learners with less than two years of English language arts instruction
2,596: Students who were held back in a previous grade
2,345: Students who had other exemptions determined by their local education leaders

Exemptions were up to the districts to sort out. The remaining students had to successfully take one of the state’s many “pathways” to avoid being held back.

Here’s a look at how those students fared.

How Tennessee third graders moved on to fourth grade

Third graders who scored “below” or “approaching” expectations on the English language arts section of the TCAP had several options to avoid being held back.

Retakes were offered to third graders shortly after the spring TCAP. A total of 3,274 made a passing score and moved on to fourth grade. Another 99 students won an appeal because they faced a catastrophic circumstance around the time they took the TCAP.

Third graders who scored as approaching proficiency had three options to move on to fourth grade. Here’s how many qualified for each one:

1,124: Enrolled in summer school, met 90% attendance and showed adequate growth
7,426: Opted into state-provided tutoring for the entirety of fourth grade
3,262: Scored in the 50th percentile or higher of a state-approved universal reading screener and opted into state-provided tutoring for the entirety of fourth grade
2,895: Won a parent appeal and opted into an academic remediation plan in fourth grade, which includes tutoring

Third graders who scored as below proficiency had one option to move on to fourth grade. Here’s how many qualified:

3,411: Enrolled in summer school, met a 90% attendance rate and opted into state-provided tutoring for the entirety of fourth grade

Students who qualified for tutoring in fourth grade must meet an individualized growth goal by the end of fourth grade. This growth goal does not apply to two groups who opted into tutoring: Those who won an appeal, or those who scored as “approaching” on the third grade TCAP and scored in the 50th percentile or higher on the third grade universal reading screener.

A total of 1,950 third graders who fell short on the spring TCAP either did not enroll again or had data that has not been reported to the state. The data reflects reports from districts as of Sept. 6, according to the state department of education.

How the Tennessee reading law affected fourth graders

Fourth graders who enrolled in yearlong tutoring to avoid being held back in third grade must pass the English language arts section of the TCAP or hit individualized growth goals set by the state. However, the reading law does not mandate that they be held back if they do not meet those goals.

Instead, it requires the student’s parents or legal guardians, principal and English language arts teacher to determine what’s best. They can either decide to retain the child or promote them to fifth grade with state-provided tutoring in place.

According to the state department of education, here’s how fourth graders enrolled in tutoring this year fared:

5,389: Promoted to fifth grade with tutoring in place
3,996: Met adequate growth goals
1,740: Scored proficient on their spring TCAP English language arts section
132: Retained in fourth grade

A total of 906 fourth graders either did not enroll again or had data that was not reported by their district, according to the state education department.

Where can I learn more?

More information on the third grade reading and retention law from the Tennessee Department of Education can be found at tn.gov/education/learning-acceleration.

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Former Titans Coach Named Top Candidate for Jets

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Former Titans Coach Named Top Candidate for Jets

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel remains a hot name, and he may have another head-coaching job as soon as next season.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently named a bunch of potential candidates for the New York Jets job in 2025, and Vrabel was at the top of his list.

“Mike Vrabel makes the most sense to me, mostly because he won’t stand down to an owner, and that’s exactly what the New York Jets need,” Breer wrote.

The problem with that is Jets owner Woody Johnson is known to be a meddler, so he a Vrabel-Johnson partnership may never actually come to fruition.

Still, Vrabel could end up being a perfect fit for the Jets from a stylistic perspective given that New York is built upon a strong defense.

It’s not the first time that Vrabel has been linked to Gang Green, either.

Vrabel actually did a very solid job during his time with the Titans, going 54-45 while making three playoff appearances—including a pair of AFC South titles—across five seasons.

Things went south over Vrabel’s final two years in Tennessee, with the Titans going just 13-21 during that span. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the problem was not with Vrabel.

Vrabel is currently serving as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns, but it seems like only a matter of time before he lands a better job elsewhere.

The 49-year-old also had a 14-year NFL playing career from 1997 through 2010, spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and also made a Pro Bowl with the squad in 2007.

The Jets have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams this season, as they are just 3-8 in spite of having one of the most star-studded rosters in the sport.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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