( CNN ) -- Union organizers in the South suffered a setback Friday when workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga , Tennessee , voted against being represented by the United Auto Workers . The vote was 712 against the union and 626 in favor . There are about 1,550 hourly workers at the plant who were eligible to vote . The vote was seen as the UAW 's best chance to organize a nonunion auto plant , because Volkswagen management did not oppose the effort . `` We commend Volkswagen for ... trying to provide an atmosphere of freedom to make a decision , '' said UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel , who directs the union 's Southern organizing . `` Unfortunately , politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility . '' Organizers faced strong opposition by Republican officials who wanted to maintain Tennessee 's reputation as a non-union state in order to attract new businesses . U.S . Senator Bob Corker , a Republican and former mayor of Chattanooga , praised the 'no ' vote . `` Needless to say , I am thrilled for the employees at Volkswagen and for our community and its future , '' Corker said in a statement on his website . Corker had been heavily involved in negotiations with VW that lead the automaker to pick the town for its factory , according to the Senator 's website . The plant , which opened in 2011 , is Volkswagen 's only U.S. plant . But automakers from Asia and Europe have opened more than 30 U.S. plants to serve the U.S. market , and more than two-thirds of those plants are in the South . Volkswagen said it was neutral on the vote , but opponents of the union had also criticized the company for being too welcoming of the union organizing effort . Volkswagen wants to establish a so-called `` works council '' at the plant , in which management and hourly workers together come up with ways to make the plant 's operations more efficient . The automaker has works councils at virtually every plant it operates around the world . But there were doubts about whether the council could be set up under U.S. labor law without a union being in place . Volkswagen said it will try to move ahead with a works council , despite the outcome of the vote . `` Our employees have not made a decision that they are against a works council . Throughout this process , we found great enthusiasm for the idea , '' said Frank Fischer , CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga . `` Our goal continues to be to determine the best method for establishing a works council in accordance with the requirements of U.S. labor law . '' Union opponents blame the UAW for problems at U.S. automakers , two of which , General Motors and Chrysler Group , needed federal bailouts and bankruptcy reorganization in 2009 . But GM , Chrysler and Ford Motor , the other UAW-represented automaker , are all posting strong profits today . Workers at the VW plant make roughly $ 19 an hour , compared with about $ 26 to $ 28 an hour for veteran hourly workers at the Detroit automakers , although new hires at the unionized plants are making closer to $ 17 . But unionized workers are usually better paid than their non-union counterparts . Labor Department statistics show that the typical weekly wage of a unionized worker in the private sector is $ 892 a week , or a little more than $ 46,000 a year . That 's 20 % more than their nonunion counterparts . Experts suggested that this loss is a serious blow to the UAW 's efforts to reverse the long-term decline in its membership . `` This is a setback that will resonate throughout the South and , likely , around the world , '' said Jack Nerad , executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book . `` In VW the union had management that seemed neutral to positive toward its attempt to organize the plant 's workers , and it still failed to gain certification . The UAW 's attempts to organize other nonunion plants are very unlikely to be greeted with as much cooperation from other manufacturers , so this could mark the end to UAW hopes to gain traction in these nonunion Southern state plants . '' As far as VW 's hope to have a works council , that will be difficult to set up anytime soon , according to Donald Schroeder , a management-side labor lawyer with Mintz Levin . There ca n't be another union representation election at the plant for at least a year and U.S. labor law has significant barriers to these kinds of labor-management committees without an independent union . `` It will be virtually impossible for them to replicate the kinds of council they have in Germany , '' he said .
Union organizers in the state suffered a setback however . They faced strong opposition by Republican officials in Tennessee . Opponents of the union criticized them for being too welcoming of the union . The vote was 712 against the union and 700 in favor .