More than 5,000 Mercedes-Benz workers who build luxury SUVs in Alabama were eligible to vote on whether to join the UAW. Workers faced intense anti-union messaging from Mercedes in the run-up.
The results are a big setback for the UAW, which had enjoyed a string of victories in recent months, starting with the historic strikes last fall against the Big Three carmakers Ford, GM and Stellantis that resulted in big wage gains and benefits for workers.But the outcome in Alabama, where more than 5,000 workers build luxury SUVs, was never guaranteed. For decades, pro-union workers inside the plant could never gather enough support to call for a union election.
The workers called for higher wages and lower health care costs, aware that Big 3 autoworkers pay nothing in health care premiums thanks to their UAW contract. Mercedes workers also hoped having a union could help tame their unpredictable schedules.Still, it's one thing to sign an electronic card expressing support for a union drive. It's quite another to drop an official vote into a ballot box.
As the election drew close, workers say they also got text messages on their phones and were pulled into small group meetings with lawyers from an outside consulting group.Vote no, vote no, vote no. We don't think you need to do this. This is not what you want,Rob Lett, who's worked in both the assembly and battery plants at Mercedes, voted yes to joining the UAW but says some workers apprehensive about the union could have been affected by the company's anti-union messaging.
"We thank all team members who asked questions, engaged in discussions, and ultimately, made their voices heard on this important issue," the statement read, adding that the company looked forward to continuing to work directly with its employees.Alabama politicians, including Gov. Ivey and Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, took a strident tone, characterizing the UAW as an outside force hellbent on threatening Alabama's economic success.
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