Mercedes Plant In Tuscaloosa Files Formal Request For Unionization Vote To Join UAW

Just when you thought the extortion labor negotiations with automakers, led by UAW President Shawn Fain, were in the rear-view mirror, giving automakers some breathing room on having to figure out labor costs for a couple of years, Tuscaloosa’s Mercedes Benz plant is now looking to join the UAW. 

Tuscaloosa Thread reports that a representative from the United Auto Workers said that the workforce at the Mercedes factory exceeds 5,000 individuals.

Following indications that 70% of this workforce for unionization, a formal request for a unionization vote was submitted to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this past Friday.

This major change follows the union’s big strike at Detroit’s three major automakers last year, which resulted in significant increases in pay and benefits for workers. And the shit is not just happening at MBUSI; workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee also sought to unionize and will vote on it later in April, the report says. 

MBUSI measurement machine operator Jeremy Kimbrell said: “We are standing up for every worker in Alabama. At Mercedes, at Hyundai, and at hundreds of other companies, Alabama workers have made billions of dollars for executives and shareholders, but we haven’t gotten our fair share. We’re going to turn things around with this vote. We’re going to end the Alabama discount.”

Moesha Chandler, an assembly team member at MBUSI, said: “We are voting for safer jobs at Mercedes. 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. By winning our union, we’ll have the power to make the work safer and more sustainable.”

Jacob Ryan, a KVP team member at Mercedes concluded: “We’re going to make Mercedes better with this vote. Right now, the company keeps losing good people because they force them to work Saturdays at the last second, to take shifts that mess with their family lives. And the only choice people have is to take it or quit. With the union, we’ll have a voice for fair schedules that keep workers at Mercedes.”

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has been against the shift as the state leads the nation in car exports, Tweeting: “It’s no wonder the UAW wants a piece of the pie here in Alabama. And let’s be clear about something: This threat from Detroit has no interest in seeing the people of Alabama succeed, our OEMs succeed, and in turn, the state to succeed like we are now.”

It’s time for change at Mercedes.

It’s time for justice in Alabama.

It’s time for Mercedes workers to Stand Up.

That’s why Mercedes workers have filed for their vote to join the UAW, and to win a better life.#StandUpMercedes pic.twitter.com/LHgbm0sKNI

— UAW (@UAW) April 5, 2024