The United Auto Workers (UAW) tried to make a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama join their union, but they didn’t succeed. For a first try in a place that usually doesn’t like unions, it wasn’t too bad, according to experts who study labor.
Most of the workers at the Vance, Alabama, plant voted against joining the union, about 56%. This was a big deal because the UAW has been around for almost 90 years, and it hadn’t won over workers at foreign-owned car factories in the South before, until recently in Tennessee.
Even though they lost at Mercedes this time, the UAW can still try to organize other factories in the South or even try again at Mercedes later. Peter Bible, who used to work for General Motors, thinks they’ll try again. He was surprised they got as many votes as they did, considering where the plant is located.
Some workers were worried about how the car industry is changing to use more electric cars. This might give the union more chances to grow, according to Bible.
Earlier this year, the UAW said they would spend $40 million to organize workers at more than a dozen car companies that don’t have unions, like Toyota and Tesla. This is important for the UAW to keep its influence in the car industry, not just with American car companies.
At Mercedes, the company and some politicians tried hard to stop the workers from joining the union. Six governors wrote a letter asking workers to vote no. They said having a union would stop the car industry from growing in the South.
But even though the UAW lost, it’s not the end. The president of the UAW, Shawn Fain, said they will keep fighting. They’ve been making progress at other places, like a Hyundai plant in Alabama and Toyota plants in Missouri and Kentucky.
Fain said they did everything they could to win. He compared their fight to the story of David and Goliath, where even though David lost a battle, he still won the war.
Some workers like Jay White, who worked at Mercedes for 18 years, think the union thought more people supported them than actually did. The anti-union campaign got stronger as the vote got closer.
This wasn’t a bad start for the UAW in a place where they usually lose badly. But organizing in the South will still be hard, even with the Mercedes loss. There are lots of car factories in the South without unions, and that won’t change easily.
This loss was one of the first big problems for Fain, who became the head of the UAW in 2023. He won a close election to get the job.
Even though they lost, this is still a good time for unions in America because more people are supporting them. John Logan, who studies labor, thinks the UAW won’t wait long before trying again. But it will still be a tough fight.
