In a shocking blow to the Shawn Fain-led United Auto Workers employees at Mercedes-Benz's (MBGAF) Vance, Ala., plant rejected the union in a close election that ended on May 17.
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As per the National Labor Relations Board, the workers voted 2,642 to 2,045 against union representation, marking this vote at Mercedes a defeat after a successful vote at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tenn. plant.
Though the vote at Mercedes did not work in the union's favor, UAW president Shawn Fain noted in remarks shortly after the results were revealed that the campaign that brought them there brought momentum and some substantial change at the company.
"These courageous workers reached out to us because they wanted justice. They led us. They led this fight. And what happens next is up to them,” Fain said. “Justice isn’t just about one vote or one campaign. It’s about getting a voice and getting your fair share."
"Workers won serious gains in this campaign. Don’t lose sight of that. The UAW bump, they killed wage tiers. They got rid of a CEO that had no interest in improving. Mercedes is a better place thanks to this campaign and these courageous workers."
The vote comes as the union and its supporters faced a strong anti-union campaign brought forth by key politicians, activists, as well as Mercedes-Benz itself.
Kay Ivey, the Republican governor of Alabama has blasted the UAW and its leader on separate occasions while the union was out on its Southern campaigns, calling it an "out-of-state interest group" set to take away "hope and prosperity" from Alabamans. Shortly after the vote, Ivey celebrated the defeat in a series of posts on X (formerly known as Twitter), declaring that "Alabama is not Michigan," and that Alabama is not "the Sweet Home to the UAW."
The workers in Vance have spoken, and they have spoken clearly! Alabama is not Michigan, and we are not the Sweet Home to the UAW. We urge the UAW to respect the results of this secret ballot election. ⬇️ #alpolitics (1/3)
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) May 17, 2024
“We urge the UAW to respect the results of this secret ballot election. I am proud Alabama is home to some of the greatest automakers in the world, and I am grateful to these companies who provide good pay, benefits, and opportunities to many men and women across our state," Ivey said.
“As I have said, automotive manufacturing is one of Alabama’s crown jewel industries and number one in the country, and we are committed to keeping it that way.”
Shortly before the vote on May 14, Ivey signed Senate Bill 231 into law, a regulation that penalizes companies for voluntarily recognizing unions. According to HuffPost, the new legislation in Alabama prohibits companies from receiving economic incentives from the state if they voluntarily recognize their worker's unions after a majority of workers signs union cards, rather than holding secret-ballot elections on whether to unionize.
"We want to ensure that Alabama values, not Detroit values, continue to define the future of this great state," Ivey said during the bill's signing.
Alabaman business advocates have also vehemently spoken out against the UAW's expansion. In an op-ed for the Alabama Political Reporter penned by Helena Duncan, the president and CEO, Business Council of Alabama — the brains behind the anti-union Alabama Strong campaign, blamed the UAW for the downfall of Detroit.
"Much of the decay that exists in the Motor City today results from untenable demands that the UAW placed on its automobile manufacturers, an unwise move that sent untold numbers of jobs to right-to-work states like ours and crippled a once great metropolis," Duncan penned before urging workers to "not let the UAW do to Alabama what it did to Detroit."
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Stanford Law Professor William Gould IV mentioned of this political hostility in a recent blog post in response to the vote, noting that most politicians in most of the Deep South are largely hostile to unions. The professor added that there was an extra cherry on top when it came to Mercedes, noting that the "major difference between the successful Volkswagen campaign in Chattanooga and Mercedes is that Volkswagen was neutral and did not pursue the vigorous anti-union stance adopted by Mercedes."
"Unions are likely to flourish in most parts of the country if the employer is neutral, Gould said. "In both campaigns, Southern conservative Republican leaders attempted to influence the workers to oppose the UAW, arguing that the union would produce job losses, strikes, and that workers would have no control over their dues."
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Mercedes-Benz itself has been accused of anti-union practices, some so severe that it prompted attention from U.S. diplomats and its German counterparts.
Workers at the plant say that in the weeks before the UAW vote occurred, they were routinely bombarded with anti-union programming in various forms, including a surprise visit to the factory by legendary University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
“It is a daily barrage of text messages, emails, and there’s an app we have for work for every kind of announcement you can think of and we’re getting two to three notifications daily. Every day before the shift, we have to sit in the team room and watch anti-union videos,” Mercedes worker Rick Webster told The Guardian. “It’s just been a constant barrage. Everybody is just sick and tired of it.”
In an announcement on May 16, the UAW said that the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, is investigating Mercedes-Benz Group AG for alleged illegal anti-union conduct at the Mercedez-Benz plant in Vance, Ala. The UAW has brought charges forward to the German government officials, stating that documented anti-union acts of retaliation, intimidation and targeted terminations are violations under the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains.
If found guilty, Mercedes could face billions of Euros in fines, as well as bans from receiving government contracts.
At market close, Mercedes-Benz Group AG trading under MBGAF, closed at $72.83, down 1.69% throughout the day.
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