After winning major victories in labor negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers last year, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union promised to organize factories across the U.S. The push is already showing results.
A supermajority of workers at Mercedes-Benz’s assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Friday filed a petition with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election to join the UAW. The more than 5,000 workers at the facility make the GLE, GLE Coupé, GLS Maybach, and the all-electric EQS SUV and EQE SUV.
“We are voting for safer jobs at Mercedes,” Moesha Chandler, an assembly team member at the factory, said in a statement. “I’m still young, but I’m already having serious problems with my shoulders and hands. When you’re still in your twenties and your body is breaking down, that’s not right.”
The UAW has alleged that Mercedes is running an “aggressive anti-union” campaign to stifle organizing efforts. The union last month filed federal charges against the German automaker, alleging that the company has been retaliating against workers for being pro-union.
The UAW has also filed charges against Mercedes-Benz Group in German court under the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains, which sets standards for firms based in Germany to adhere to strict standards within their supply chains. It’s the first time a U.S.-based union has filed charges under the law, which went into effect last year. Mercedes could face “billions in penalties,” according to the UAW.
One worker, Al Ezell, who has stage 4 lung cancer and works at the battery plant, said he was disciplined for having his phone on the factory floor. He had previously been told that he had permission to check his phone in case his doctor called about filling his medical prescriptions.
“Management called me into the office to discipline me for having my phone on the floor. My manager looked me in the face and told me she didn’t care that I have cancer or that I had permission; she was going to enforce the company’s zero-tolerance policy,” Ezell said in a statement.
In a statement, Mercedes said it “fully respects” its employees choice to unionize, adding that it looks forward to ensuring that every worker has a chance to cast their own secret-ballot vote and have access to information necessary to make an informed choice.
“Our primary focus at MBUSI is always to provide a safe and supportive work environment for our Team Members, so they can continue to build safe and superior vehicles for the world,” Mercedes said.
Volkswagen employees in Chattanooga, Tennessee have also filed for an election with the NLRB to join the UAW, arguing that organizing will help them win better safety provisions and more paid time off. Volkswagen, like Mercedes, has been accused of using unfair labor practices. Those roughly 5,500 workers will vote in a union election between April 17 and April 19.
Both companies are just two of the 14 auto companies with plants in the U.S. that are not unionized. The UAW has announced a push to organize workers at companies including Tesla, Nissan, Hyundai Motor, and Subaru, and pledged $40 million toward unionizing auto and battery workers over the next two years.
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April 05, 2024 at 10:01PM
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Mercedes-Benz joins Volkswagen in facing union elections - Quartz
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