UAW launches union drive at Mercedes plant in Alabama

United Auto Workers (UAW) publicly launched a union card drive at a Mercedes-Benz production plant near Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday, the union announced, following up on promises to expand membership beyond the “Big Three” U.S. automakers.

The drive comes after the union made big gains for members following a six-week strike of the Big Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — last fall.

The UAW said over 1,500 employees at the plant, about 30 percent, have signed union cards as of Wednesday. That mark allows the union to demand a federally protected election at the plant, orchestrated by the National Labor Relations Board.

It comes a month after a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., reached the same union card milestone. The union said it will not demand an election until 70 percent of employees sign union cards, instead opting for a public demonstration and pressure campaign.

“In the past, people didn’t know if we had a pathway forward here,” plant employee Jeremy Kimbrell said in a statement. “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,” he continued. “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.”

The union emphasized industry profitability in its argument for membership. Mercedes made $156 billion in total profits over the last decade, increasing profits by 200 percent over the last three years while wages stagnated, the union claimed.

Some manufacturers, like Toyota, willingly increased wages and benefits for workers after the UAW won a new contract, in an effort to discourage union expansion. The union said those gains are not enough.

The south is generally a weak region for organized labor, especially for the UAW. While some minor component manufacturers are unionized, no major auto plants in the area are.

After the UAW voted to implement a new contract with the Big Three after a strike in October, union President Shawn Fain pledged to bring union membership to other major automakers. Tesla, BMW, Nissan and other manufacturers use mostly non-union labor.

“One of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we’ve never organized before,” Fain said. “When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won’t just be with the Big Three. It will be the Big Five or Big Six.”

Union votes previously failed at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga in 2014 and a Mississippi Nissan plant in 2017.