Dive Brief:
- Employees at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are attempting to form a union with the United Auto Workers, the union said Wednesday.
- Over 30% of the plant’s employees — more than 1,500 workers — have signed union authorization cards, according to the UAW.
- It's part of a colossal union drive covering nearly 150,000 autoworkers employed by at least 13 companies.
Dive Insight:
The announcement comes a month after the UAW and nonunion employees at Volkswagen Group’s assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, announced that more than 1,000 autoworkers had signed union authorization cards as part of a broader organizing effort. In November, thousands of autoworkers launched simultaneous organizing campaigns nationwide to join the UAW after the union won record pay increases from the Big Three.
The UAW said crossing the 30% threshold was “a major milestone” for Mercedes-Benz employees “on their path to form a union.”
“The union’s organizing efforts are gaining traction,” said Stephen Silvia, a professor at American University and author of “The UAW’s Southern Gamble,” in an email. “It's common for a union to announce when thirty percent of the workforce has signed authorization cards because this is the minimum percentage needed to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a recognition election.”
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the UAW, however, with the union and nonunion employees at Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen claiming that the automakers had engaged in union-busting activities, such as harassment from managers and the confiscation and destruction of pro-union materials in the employee break room.
The UAW has filed multiple unfair labor practice complaints against the three automakers with the NLRB, including two against Volkswagen.
In an email, a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson suggested the automaker would not interfere with organizing efforts at its assembly plant in Alabama, which assembles six models, including the GLE, GLS, GLE Coupe, Mercedes-Maybach GLS, EQE SUV and EQS SUV.
“We believe open and direct communication with our Team Members is the best path forward to ensure continued success,” the spokesperson said. “Whether to unionize is our Team Members’ decision, and [Mercedes-Benz] will respect whatever is decided.”
