Workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, voted Friday against joining the United Auto Workers, a major blow to the union’s campaign to gain traction in the South, where it is traditionally low.
The defeat, based on an unofficial union tally, came after Kay Ivey, Alabama’s governor, and other Republican leaders argued that a pro-union vote would stifle investments that have transformed the state into a major automobile producer. Hyundai and Honda also have large factories in Alabama that the UAW is trying to organize.
The vote took on national significance as a test of whether the UAW could build on a string of recent victories and gain ground in a state whose elected officials have been hostile to unions. The union has said it wants to unionize every auto plant in the United States, expanding its membership to include employees at companies like Toyota and Tesla.
But the loss of the Mercedes plants will almost surely slow the union’s campaign and likely force it to redouble its efforts to win worker support before seeking to hold elections at other auto plants. Union leaders will want to spend time figuring out how best to counter the messages and tactics of local lawmakers and business leaders.
“It definitely hurts to lose,” Elizabeth Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said Friday. “But we do not see this as a loss, but as a temporary setback. Workers will persevere, whatever the cost.
Auto industry executives and conservative lawmakers will also likely study the vote at Mercedes closely to determine the best approaches to fending off the UAW and other unions in upcoming elections and to deter union campaigns in the first place.
The South has become an important battleground. States like Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee attract much of the billions of dollars that automakers and suppliers are investing in electric vehicle and battery factories. The UAW wants to represent the workers in these factories.
Mercedes produces sport utility vehicles at a plant in Vance, Alabama, and batteries for electric vehicles at a plant in nearby Woodstock. Surveys took place throughout the week at both plants under the supervision of the National Labor Relations Board.
In a campaign conducted largely by word of mouth, union activists argued that in addition to better wages and benefits, the UAW would protect Mercedes’ 5,200 workers from abrupt changes in their schedules and long days. work, including weekends.
“If we hadn’t built these cars, you wouldn’t be putting the money you put in your pocket,” said Kay Finklea, who works in quality control at Mercedes and campaigned for the union. “So treat us with dignity, treat us with respect and pay us. »
But activists acknowledged that many workers unhappy with working conditions at Mercedes were also reluctant to join the union, influenced by warnings from company executives and politicians that membership would lead to high dues and loss of wages. control over their employment.
Mercedes worked to block the union. Last month, in an apparent attempt to address employee complaints, the company shook up local management, appointing Federico Kochlowski as chief executive of the German company’s U.S. unit.
Mr. Kochlowski, who worked at Mercedes for about 20 years in various manufacturing positions in China, Mexico and the United States, acknowledged there were problems at the Alabama factories and promised to address improvements. “I understand that a lot of things are wrong,” he said in a video posted online by Mercedes. “Give me a chance.”
Union activists pointed out that Mr. Kochlowski had previously been a member of senior management and interpreted his appointment as a last-minute attempt to fend off the UAW.
The UAW filed six unfair labor practice charges against Mercedes with the labor relations board, saying the company disciplined employees for discussing unionizing at work, blocked organizers from distributing union materials, monitored workers and fired workers who supported the union.
Mercedes denies these allegations.
Previous attempts by the UAW to represent workers at Mercedes and other Southern automakers have failed. But the UAW is stronger than it has been in years after winning a unionization vote last month at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, after losing two previous elections at that plant. The union also won major pay raises last year for workers at Ford Motor, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram.
Mercedes workers who support joining the UAW said they would continue to fight.
“Mercedes is going to be unionized,” Robert Lett, who works at the Woodstock battery plant and campaigned for the union, said before the vote. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Friday or in the future. There is too much frustration out there that ultimately we cannot unionize.
News Source : www.nytimes.com
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