Ala. Mercedes-Benz workers hope to join UAW

Plant produces 6 models, including pair of SUVs

The UAW has announced that MercedesBenz workers in Alabama have gone public with a campaign to join the union.

The move follows a similar announcement last month by the union regarding workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as part of an aggressive organizing campaign targeting nonunion automakers in the United States on the heels of the UAW’s widely watched Detroit Three strikes and contract settlements.

The union said in a news release Wednesday

that more than 30% of the Mercedes-Benz plant’s workforce signed union authorization cards. A message seeking comment was sent to a company spokeswoman.

The plant in Tuscaloosa produces a halfdozen models, including the GLE and GLS SUVs, and has 6,300 employees, according to the company.

“The Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa was founded in 1995 and was the first major Mercedes-Benz plant outside Germany. Around two-thirds of the annual production is exported, making the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI) one of the largest automotive exporters in the United States. Since 1997, around four million vehicles have rolled off the assembly line at the Tuscaloosa plant,” according to information on the company website.

In a comment provided by the union, Jim Spitzley, a team leader at Mercedes, said that “When Mercedes opened up, it was the shining three-point star of Alabama. That star has gone out. I’ve been here 27 years and the morale has been steady in the downward direction.” Spitzley said he has missed lots of time with his family over the years and can still work 12 of 13 weekends when a new model comes out even though he’s now on “straight days.”

Organizing nonunion automakers in the South has been an elusive goal of the UAW. Some experts have told the Free Press the momentum for unionizing is higher now than it has been for years, but these efforts will still face many hurdles.

Last week, a group of 33 U.S. senators sent letters to CEOs of nonunion automakers urging them not to interfere in organizing efforts.