Workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are increasingly seeking union representation, with over 30% having signed union authorization cards, the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced recently. This development marks a significant step forward in the UAW’s broader campaign to organize non-union auto plants across the United States, building on the momentum from their landmark contracts secured with the Big Three automakers last year.
This milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant, achieved just six weeks after the organizing campaign’s launch, mirrors similar progress at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where workers also reached the 30% mark in union authorization last month.
Jeremy Kimbrell, a measurement machine operator with Mercedes-Benz since 1999, highlighted the shift in worker sentiment. “In the past, people didn’t know if we had a pathway forward here,” Kimbrell stated. “Now everybody’s coming together and seeing what the pathway is, and it’s through the union. When we get our union in here, I think people will once again look at Mercedes and say: ‘It’s not just another job, it’s a career job. It’s a job where generations will want to come and work.’ And that’ll spread out to the suppliers and then to the broader area.” His words underscore a growing belief among workers that unionization is the key to securing long-term career prospects and improved working conditions at the plant.
The UAW’s campaign resonates with workers by drawing attention to the substantial profits generated by automakers amidst rising living costs and stagnant wages. Mercedes-Benz, for example, has reportedly amassed $156 billion in profits over the last decade, with a dramatic 200% surge in the past three years. Simultaneously, the union points out that vehicle prices for Mercedes-Benz have increased by 3% between 2020 and 2023, while worker wages have remained largely unchanged. This disparity fuels the argument for unionization as a means to ensure workers benefit from the company’s financial success.
Further intensifying the call for unionization, the UAW has highlighted that Mercedes-Benz allocated $1.9 billion to stock buybacks between March and November 2023. The union argues that these funds could have been better utilized to invest in worker compensation and benefits, rather than rewarding shareholders.
The Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama is a major production hub, manufacturing popular models including the Mercedes GLE, GLE coupé, GLS series, and the all-electric EQS SUV and EQE models. It employs over 6,000 workers, many of whom are expressing concerns about job security and fair wages in the face of the company’s robust profitability.
Moesha Chandler, an assembly team member who joined Mercedes-Benz in January 2023, encapsulates the financial strain felt by many workers. “I feel like we’re living to work when we should be working to live,” Chandler explained. “I started as a temp making $17.50 an hour. I’m full-time now, but I’m still living paycheck to paycheck. If I have a shopping spree, it’s for my work clothes, not fun clothes. If we had the union, we’d feel more protected, more at ease. We wouldn’t feel like a gazelle to a lion.” Her statement poignantly illustrates the desire for a stronger worker voice and protection that union representation, acting as a ‘guardian’, could provide.
The UAW emphasizes that reaching the 30% threshold is just the initial phase of their organizing efforts. The next milestones are 50% sign-up, which will trigger a public rally, and 70%, at which point the UAW will demand formal recognition from Mercedes-Benz or petition the National Labor Relations Board to conduct a union election. As the campaign progresses, the focus remains on empowering workers and ensuring they receive a fair share of the success generated at the Mercedes-Benz Alabama plant.
