Mercedes-Benz workers make big move toward vote on joining UAW
Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama are asking the National Labor Relations Board to allow them to vote on joining the UAW.
The move, coming ahead of a similar election this month for Volkswagen workers in Tennessee, marks another milestone in the United Auto Workers union's push to organize foreign auto plants in the South, a region that has proven challenging in past such attempts by the union. The election at the VW plant in Chattanooga is scheduled for April 17-19.
Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, in a statement Thursday, highlighted the impact that last year's targeted strike by the UAW against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis has had on the union's organizing in the South.
“There has been more momentum for the UAW in the past year than for the last 10 years. The big gains made in the Detroit Three contracts and the 75-80% positive views of the UAW in the strikes has elevated (UAW President) Shawn Fain to one of the most important union leaders in the country," Wheaton said.
Previous UAW attempts to organize in the South have at times met stiff resistance from area politicians, and a recent social media post by Alabama's governor shows the winds in that arena haven't completely changed.
"It's no wonder the UAW wants a piece of the pie here in Alabama. And let's be clear about something: This threat from Detroit has no interest in seeing the people of Alabama succeed, our OEMs succeed, and in turn, the state to succeed like we are now," according to a post Thursday by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on the platform formerly known as Twitter but which is now listed as X.
A news release about the effort at Mercedes-Benz said a supermajority of workers have filed a petition with the NLRB seeking a vote.
On Friday, NLRB spokesman Matt Hayward said in an email that the petition was filed with the board's Region 10 office in Atlanta to represent about 5,200 full-time and regular part-time production and maintenance employees at plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama, noting that a hearing would be held on April 15 if the union and employer do not stipulate to the terms of the union election. The NLRB website indicates that all professional employees, guards, managers and supervisors would be excluded. The facilities are both east of Tuscaloosa.
The plant in Vance, the automaker's first major such facility built outside Germany, produces a half-dozen models, including the GLE and GLS SUVs, and has 6,100 employees, and the facility in Woodstock is a battery plant, according to the company. It wasn't clear Friday how many workers are located in Woodstock.
The news release on the unionization effort quoted Moesha Chandler, a Mercedes assembly team member, who said "we are voting for safer jobs at Mercedes. ... I’m still young, but I’m already having serious problems with my shoulders and hands. When you’re still in your 20s and your body is breaking down, that’s not right. By winning our union, we’ll have the power to make the work safer and more sustainable.”
A UAW video posted on YouTube featured Chandler and other workers along with the theme "Stand up Mercedes" and Fain at a rally calling on a crowd to have faith that they can win:
"Working-class people have the power to change the world. That's what you're fighting for right now. Work-life balance. Good health care that you can afford. A better life for your family. A better life for all of Alabama."
The news release, provided by public relations firm Feldman Strategies, described the effort to date and accused the company of leading an aggressive anti-union campaign, which the company has denied.
"By late February, less than two months after Mercedes workers went public with their drive to join the UAW, a majority of them had signed union cards. The Mercedes workers hope to be voting in their union election by early May. The NLRB is expected to quickly set the date for the election," the release said.
On Wednesday, the UAW said it filed charges against Mercedes-Benz for violating Germany's new law on global supply chain practices related to actions at the Alabama plant, which is run by one of its subsidiaries. The union said the complaint details how the company "has intimidated, threatened and even fired Alabama workers in violation of U.S. labor law and International Labour Organization Conventions."
The UAW said the company fired a union supporter with cancer over having his phone with him at work so he could get updates on a scarce chemo drug. The supporter had been allowed to have his phone for that purpose, the union said, but "a supervisor who has intimidated union supporters claimed there was a zero-tolerance policy on cellphones and had him fired."
In addition, the release described mandatory plant-wide meetings, including one that featured former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, which either discouraged unionizing or prevented union supporters from distributing UAW hats.
The UAW has also filed unfair labor practice charges against the company with the NLRB.
The email from the NLRB spokesman noted that the board "has docketed four unfair labor practice charges ... filed by UAW against Mercedes-Benz. The union’s charges, still under investigation, allege that the employer unlawfully fired three employees for engaging in protected activities, imposed discipline on employees for discussing unionization at work, and prohibited the distribution of union materials and paraphernalia."
Andrea Berg, a spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz, provided a statement saying the company was declining comment on the complaint when asked about the case in Germany because it hadn't been received. But the statement also said the subsidiary, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, "has not interfered with or retaliated against any team member in their right to pursue union representation. MBUSI does not believe these claims have merit and looks forward to presenting the case to the NLRB."
The company said that "following the UAW’s nationwide campaign to increase its membership, MBUSI wants to ensure its team members make an informed decision. MBUSI has a strong record of success over the past 25+ years operating as one team in Alabama ... (and) has a proven record of competitively compensating team members and providing many additional benefits."
Free Press staff writer Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: [email protected]. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mercedes workers petition NLRB for UAW election, group says