lady-libertyThe dictionary defines a Hail Mary Pass as a long forward pass in football where completion is considered unlikely. Volkswagen’s Hail Mary Pass is appealing maintenance workers’ union representation victory to the federal courts. Volkswagen’s appeal will almost certainly fail since every appeals court that’s considered such a case has rejected Volkswagen’s position.

The news outlet Reuters reported last month that Volkswagen faces a bumpy road in their court challenge. (read the article here) They say that experts predict Volkswagen’s legal strategy will fail, noting “every appeals court to consider a case under a standard backed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has sided with unions, including five this year.”

So why would Volkswagen use this delay tactic, since they are almost certain to lose and have to sit down and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement? Reuters notes that “with court losses piling up, the business lobby is backing a stalled effort by Republicans in Congress to reinstate a previous, more business-friendly standard for scrutinizing proposed units of workers.” However, this would require that Republicans hold onto Congress in the November 8th elections, and that Donald Trump wins so that such legislation isn’t vetoed.

Who would have known that Volkswagen has such high stakes in our national elections?

Volkswagen’s ‘Hail Mary Pass