DETROIT/WASHINGTON — Workers at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance, Alabama, filed a petition with U.S. regulators to carry an election to hitch the United Auto Workers, the union said on Friday.
The SUV plant is the second to file an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in recent weeks. Reuters previously reported that Mercedes workers in Alabama would file an election petition with the NLRB as soon as this week.
The UAW said a “supermajority” of the greater than 5,000 eligible Mercedes workers on the plant signed cards to hitch the union. The UAW hopes for a vote by early May.
The elections come after months of organizing efforts at greater than a dozen non-union automakers owned by foreign corporations like Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor, in addition to EV makers like Tesla and Rivian.
After securing record contracts for the Detroit Three — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — UAW President Shawn Fain pledged to perform a goal the labor group has failed at repeatedly over the previous few many years: welcoming a brand new automaker to its unionized ranks.
The UAW’s latest efforts come at a time when it has an ally within the White House. President Joe Biden, who last fall joined a UAW picket line in Michigan — a key battleground state on this fall’s election — has backed UAW efforts to arrange the nonunion automakers.
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, workers at a Volkswagen plant were first to petition for a UAW vote, which is predicted to be finalized by April 19. UAW organizers have twice lost a vote at that plant, narrowly missing a majority in 2014 and 2019. There have also been failed attempts at plants owned by Japanese automaker Nissan.
Union officials have claimed in filings to federal regulators that some automakers are retaliating against workers or encumbering their attempts to arrange. The labor group on Wednesday filed charges against Mercedes for violating Germany’s recent law on global supply chain practices, which prohibits German corporations from disregarding workers’ rights to form trade unions.
The company responded to among the union’s charges, saying they’re inaccurate. It also said the corporate recognizes its employees’ rights to arrange.
Credit : www.autoblog.com
