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UAW files petition to hold a new election at Mercedes plant
May
The United Automotive Staff (UAW) has filed a petition to carry a brand new election at a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Alabama, after the corporate’s staff voted in opposition to becoming a member of the union final week.
In a union election held at the Mercedes factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, held last week, 56 % of staff voted in opposition to UAW membership, although the union accused the automaker of union-busting ways and signage encouraging staff to vote no. On Friday, the UAW formally filed a petition with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to carry a brand new election on the manufacturing facility, citing a “relentless anti-union marketing campaign,” in keeping with a report from Automotive News.
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The submitting additionally alleges that Mercedes fired employees who were pro-union and held common anti-union conferences.
“We sincerely hoped the UAW would respect our crew members’ determination,” mentioned a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson. “All through the election, we labored with the NLRB to stick to its pointers and we’ll proceed to take action as we work by way of this course of.”
Within the current election, 56 % of the roughly 4,687 votes solid had been in opposition to the Mercedes plant recognizing the UAW.
The election adopted an identical union election at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the place workers about 73 percent of employees voted in favor of joining the UAW final month. It additionally comes after the UAW launched union campaigns at Tesla, Toyota, Hyundai, Rivian, and 9 others—together with Volkswagen and Mercedes.
Final 12 months, the UAW held six-week strikes against Ford, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis, finally garnering file wage will increase for workers in contract negotiations. After a lot speculation that the UAW would set its sights on Tesla, the union formally launched the up to date campaigns in November.
On the time, UAW President Shawn Fain had also called workers at Tesla and Toyota “members of the future,” later saying that he hoped to see a “Big Five or Six” at the bargaining table in 2028, as an alternative of simply the Large Three.
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