Majority Of Workers At Alabama Mercedes Plant Signed Union Cards, UAW Says
HuffPost
Organizing the Tuscaloosa facility would be a major boost to the UAW’s plans to unionize Southern autoworkers.
More than half of the employees at Mercedes-Benz’s manufacturing plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have signed union cards and intend to join the United Auto Workers, the union announced Tuesday.
Hitting a majority of sign-ups marks a milestone for the UAW as it seeks to represent workers at foreign-owned auto plants in the South. The union has struggled to organize such facilities for years but has seen a surge of interest from workers following its historic strike against Ford, General Motors and Jeep parent company Stellantis last year.
Jeremy Kimbrell, a 25-year employee at the plant and lead organizer for the union effort, said in a video posted Monday that workers “are ready to win our union and a better life with the UAW.”
“We’ve learned that we can’t trust Mercedes with our best interests,” Kimbrell said. “There comes a time when enough is enough.”
The union can file for an election when at least 30% of the proposed bargaining unit have signed authorization cards, but unions typically wait until a strong majority of workers ― often two-thirds or more ― have gotten onboard before seeking a vote, assuming the company will try to erode support. The union needs to get more than half of the votes cast to win.
