Volkswagen and the UAW go way back. Volkswagen’s Westmoreland, Pa. Rabbit plant was the first foreign car plant built in the US after the 1920s. The UAW, at the peak of its power in 1978, wanted to unionize the plant. It reached out to IG Metall for help and, unlike Friday’s secret ballot election at VW’s Chattanooga, Tenn. plant, it won handily. The UAW’s Westmoreland victory thirty-five years ago was the last time the union successfully organized a foreign (non-joint-venture) auto transplant.

The loss in Chattanooga is big news. Some are saying it’s game over for the UAW, that Bob King’s plan to save the UAW is a failure, that the UAW will fade into oblivion. Others are giddy at the “no” vote. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker “[i]s thrilled for the employees at Volkswagen.” The South has risen again and defeated the evil, Obama-loving, gun-hating, autoworkers union.

The UAW only lost by eighty-six votes, which isn’t much compared to its 2001 trouncing at Nissan, when Smyrna autoworkers voted two to one against the union. But the UAW was supposed to win this one. It’s been working on the campaign for two years and has spent millions of dollars to reach out to workers in Chattanooga. A few weeks ago, it looked like UAW would succeed. Volkswagen was neutral-ish, IG Metall was throwing its weight behind the campaign, Obama gave the thumbs up, and VW workers signed a majority of union cards.