Mercedes Workers In Alabama Reject Union

US workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama have handed a stinging loss to the United Auto Workers (UAW), rejecting the union in a vote it had expected would build on a win at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant and push it deeper into the US South, Nora Eckert reported for Reuters.

The union rejection at Mercedes vote marked the first big loss for UAW organizers after a series of victories. I Photo: Alabama Department of Commerce

It marked the first big loss for UAW organizers after a series of victories, including double-digit raises for Detroit workers and the union's expansion to a VW factory in Chattanooga last month.

That leaves the next steps unclear for the union, which is in the midst of a $40 million campaign targeting other automakers including Toyota and Tesla.

"It was clearly damaging to the union and other organizing attempts near-term, but it is the beginning, not the end,” said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

He blamed worker unfamiliarity with the union and pushback from Mercedes for the loss.

The workers at the plant in Vance, Alabama, and a nearby battery facility voted 2,642 to 2,045 against joining the UAW, meaning 56% voted "no," according to the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which oversaw the vote.

The result still needs to be certified.