United Auto Staff (UAW) participants and supporters on a wood line outdoor the ZF Chassis Programs plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.Andi Rice | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesUnion organizing failed with 56% of the vote, or 2,642 employees, casting ballots towards the UAW, in line with the NLRB, which oversaw the election. Greater than 90% of the 5,075 eligible Mercedes-Benz employees voted within the election, in line with the consequences.The NLRB mentioned 51 ballots have been challenged and now not counted, however they don’t seem to be determinative to the end result of the election. There have been 5 void ballots. The union and corporate have 5 industry days to report objections to the election, together with any alleged interference, in accordance to the NLRB. If no objections are filed, the election consequence can be qualified, and the union must wait three hundred and sixty five days to report for a union election for the same bargaining unit.Mercedes-Benz in a commentary mentioned corporate officers “look ahead to proceeding to paintings immediately with our Workforce Individuals to make sure [Mercedes-Benz US International] is not just their employer of selection, however a spot they might counsel to family and friends.”United Auto Staff President Shawn Fain (proper) and UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock (left) lead a march outdoor Stellantis’ Ram 1500 plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan after the union known as a strike on the plant on Oct. 23, 2023.Michael Wayland / CNBCThe loss is predicted to harm the UAW in an unheard of organizing force introduced past due remaining 12 months of 13 non-union automakers within the U.S. after securing file contracts with Detroit automakers Ford Motor, Basic Motors and Stellantis. The ones agreements incorporated important salary build up, reinstatement of cost-of-living changes and different advantages.UAW President Shawn Fain mentioned whilst the Mercedes-Benz vote was once clearly now not the end result the union sought after, it was once a valiant effort, including the vote “is not a failure” however a “bump within the highway.””Whilst this loss stings, I’m going to inform you this, we are going to stay our heads up, stay our heads up top. Those employees don’t have anything to do however be proud within the effort they put forth and what they have completed,” he mentioned Friday throughout a media convention. “We fought the nice battle and we are going to proceed on, proceed ahead. In the long run, those employees listed here are going to win.”The Mercedes-Benz vote was once anticipated to be more difficult for the union than the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, the place the union had already established a presence after two failed organizing drives prior to now decade and the place it confronted much less opposition from the automaker.Stephen Silvia, writer of “The UAW’s Southern Gamble: Organizing Staff at International-Owned Car Vegetation,” famous Mercedes-Benz changed the plant’s chief weeks forward of the election. He mentioned corporations mechanically do that, promising employees adjustments at their amenities so that you can stave of organizing. “Corporations do anti-union campaigns as a result of they are able to be efficient, and I believe this one was once efficient,” mentioned Silvia, a professor at American College in Washington, D.C. “A not unusual piece of an anti-union marketing campaign is firing the plant supervisor … That turns out to have persuaded sufficient of the employees to vote towards the union.”Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who was once one in all six Republican governors to sentence the union’s organizing force, hailed the end result of the vote.”The employees in Vance have spoken, and they’ve spoken obviously! Alabama isn’t Michigan, and we don’t seem to be the Candy House to the UAW. We urge the UAW to appreciate the result of this secret poll election,” she mentioned.Staff at Mercedes-Benz’s Tuscaloosa plant, positioned about 60 miles southwest of Birmingham, have produced greater than 4 million automobiles because the plant opened in 1997, together with 295,000 automobiles in 2023, in line with the plant’s site.The Alabama plant lately produces automobiles such because the gas-powered GLE and GLS Maybach SUVs in addition to the all-electric EQS and EQE SUVs.The NLRB remaining week mentioned it continues to procedure and examine open unfair hard work observe fees filed by means of the UAW towards automakers, together with six unfair hard work observe fees towards Mercedes-Benz since March.Fain mentioned Friday the union would proceed to transport ahead with the ones fees. He declined to mention whether or not the union plans to problem the election effects, announcing he’d “go away that” to the union’s prison crew.The fees allege that Mercedes-Benz has “disciplined staff for discussing unionization at paintings, prohibited distribution of union fabrics and paraphernalia, surveilled staff, discharged union supporters, compelled staff to wait captive target market conferences, and made statements suggesting that union job is futile,” the NLRB mentioned.The union has filed different fees towards automakers Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Rivian, Tesla and Toyota, in line with the NLRB.
