Imagine an election where only one side was allowed to air campaign ads and your boss strongly hinted that it would be better for your future if you voted for that side. That was pretty much the situation workers at Volkswagen‘s Chattanooga, Tenn., plant faced last week when they voted on the United Auto Workers‘ bid to unionize their plant.

Not only had VW management endorsed the union‘s bid, but it had given labor organizers access to the plant to lobby employees, while barring opponents. It also led employees to believe that future production expansions were contingent on UAW being accepted. “This vote was essentially gift-wrapped for the union by Volkswagen,” Cliff Hammond, a labor lawyer formerly with the Service Employees International Union, told Fox News.