(May 18, 2024) Workers at a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Alabama voted against joining the UAW, a high-profile defeat for the union that, at least temporarily, halts the momentum of a $40 million organizing drive across the South. According to the National Labor Relations Board, 56 percent of the 4,687 votes cast in the five-day election that ended Friday were against joining the union. The NLRB must still certify the results, Automotive News reported.

The defeat came less than a month after the UAW notched its first win in the southern U.S. at Volkswagen's plant in Tennessee, which it hoped to replicate in Alabama. But union supporters faced stronger opposition from Mercedes as well as from Alabama politicians and business leaders.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the loss “stings” and that the next step would be up to Mercedes workers. If the NLRB certifies the results, workers must wait at least a year to file for another election.

Mercedes has been historically hostile to unions and the UAW's last attempt to organize the sprawling plant outside Tuscaloosa in 2014 did not even get enough worker support to call for an election. This time, union organizers attempted to build support across the plant by arguing the UAW could ensure better pay, working conditions and retirement security for members.

Source: Automotive News