Members and supporters of the United Auto Workers (UAW) on a picket line outside the ZF Chassis Systems plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US, on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
Andy Rice | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama voted against union representation for the United Auto Workers, the National Labor Relations Board said Friday.
The findings represent a blow to the UAW's organizing efforts a month after the Detroit union won an organizing campaign involving about 4,330 workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee. Voting began on Monday and ended on Friday.
Unionization failed with 56% of the vote, or 2,642 workers, against the UAW, according to the NLRB, which oversaw the election. The results showed that more than 90% of the 5,075 eligible workers at Mercedes-Benz voted in the elections.
The NLRB said 51 ballots were contested and not counted, but they were not decisive in the outcome of the election. There were five invalid ballots.
The union and company have five business days to file objections to the election, including any alleged interference, according to the NLRB. If no objections are raised, the election result will be certified, and the union will have to wait one year to file for a union election for a similar bargaining unit.
Mercedes-Benz said in a statement that company officials “look forward to continuing to work directly with our team members to ensure that (Mercedes-Benz USA International) is not only their employer of choice, but a place they recommend to friends and family.”
UAW President Sean Fine (right) and UAW Treasurer Margaret Mock (left) lead a march outside Stellantis' Ram 1500 plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan after the union called a strike at the plant on October 23, 2023.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
The loss is expected to hurt the UAW in an unprecedented organizing drive launched late last year for 13 non-union U.S. automakers after securing record contracts with Detroit automakers. ford motor, General Motors And Stellantis. These agreements included significant wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments and other benefits.
While it was clear the Mercedes-Benz vote was not the outcome the union wanted, it was a valiant effort, UAW President Sean Fine said, adding that the vote was “not a failure” but a “bump in the road.”
“As painful as this loss is, I will tell you this, we are going to keep our heads up, keep our heads up. These workers have nothing to do but be proud of the efforts they made and what they did,” he said Friday during a news conference. “We put up a good fight and we will continue to move forward.” . Ultimately, these workers here will win.”
The Mercedes-Benz vote was expected to pose a greater challenge to the union than to the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, where the union has already established a presence after two failed organizing attempts in the past decade.
Workers at Mercedes-Benz's Tuscaloosa plant, located about 60 miles southwest of Birmingham, have produced more than 4 million vehicles since the plant opened in 1997, including 295,000 vehicles in 2023, according to the plant's website.
The Alabama plant currently produces vehicles such as the gas-powered GLE and GLS Maybach SUVs, as well as the all-electric EQS and EQE SUVs.
The NLRB said last week that it continues to process and investigate open unfair labor practice charges brought by the UAW against automakers, including six unfair labor practice charges against Mercedes-Benz since March.
The charges allege that Mercedes-Benz “disciplined employees for discussing unionization at work, prohibited the distribution of union materials and tools, surveilled employees, discharged union supporters, forced employees to attend captive public meetings, and made statements indicating that union activity was futile.” “The NLRB said.
The union filed other charges against automakers honda, hyundai, Clear, rivian, Tesla And toyota, According to the NLRB.
