Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama have petitioned federal officials to hold a vote on whether to join the United Auto Workers, the union said Friday.
The union is trying to build on contracts awarded last year from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis that gave workers at three Detroit automakers their biggest pay raise in decades.
The UAW is also organizing workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee and a Hyundai plant in Alabama, trying to build a larger presence in a state that has attracted much new investment in auto manufacturing in recent decades. Voting at Volkswagen plants is scheduled for April 17-19.
The push has become more important as Southern states, including South Carolina and Georgia, attract billions of dollars in investment in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. The UAW is working to ensure that jobs created by electric vehicles pay less than jobs in traditional auto plants.
Most workers at the Mercedes plant near Tuscaloosa previously signed cards expressing support for the vote. On Friday, they formally petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election for UAW representation, the union said.
Mercedes, which makes luxury sport utility vehicles in Alabama, said in a statement: “We fully respect our team members' choice to join a union or not and will ensure that our employees have access to the information they need to make informed choices.” .
Southern states have traditionally been difficult areas for unions to operate. In some cases, this is because there is legislation that is unfavorable to unions or because elected officials have publicly campaigned against unions. The lack of strong labor unions is probably one of the reasons why the region has received a large share of automotive industry investment.
Attempts in 2014 and 2019 to organize a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, where the German company builds the Atlas sport utility vehicle and the ID.4 electric SUV, failed in part because of opposition from Republican elected officials in Tennessee.
Toyota, Volkswagen and other automakers are raising hourly wages after unions boosted wages for workers at Ford, GM and Stellantis. Nonetheless, non-union workers tend to earn less. In many cases, pay is less of an issue than work schedules, health benefits, and vacation.
In a video Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain said workers are fighting for “work-life balance, affordable and good health care, and better lives for their families.”
The union complained to the National Labor Relations Board that Mercedes retaliated against Alabama organizers. The automaker denied the charges, saying, “We have never interfered with or retaliated against any team member’s right to union representation.”