- A majority of employees at the factory have also signed cards to join the union.
- Workers in Alabama are expected to file paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board.
- Employees at VW’s Chattanooga plant could also soon be represented by the UAW.
Workers from the Mercedes-Benz Alabama assembly plant are expected to file a petition with U.S. regulators this week outlining their intention to join the United Auto Workers union.
Unnamed sources understand that employees at the factory will soon file paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a formal election to join the UAW. While it remains unclear when a vote will be held, the UAW has previously said a majority of the factory’s 6,000 workers had signed cards to join the union.
Read: UAW Scores Majority Support For Unionization At Mercedes’ Alabama Plant
Speaking with Reuters, a spokesman from the NLRB said the regulators had not yet received a petition to join the UAW. A spokeswoman from Mercedes also says the car manufacturer will not retaliate against any worker seeking union representation nor will it interfere with efforts to join the UAW.
The Mercedes factory in Alabama isn’t the only U.S. car manufacturing facility that could soon be represented by the UAW. Between April 17 and 19, workers at VW’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will vote on whether to join the union. A supermajority of eligible employees at the site have already signed union cards and want to join. This factory employs 4,000 staff and builds the Atlas and ID.4.
The United Auto Workers union started an ambitious campaign to unionize the entire U.S. car manufacturing industry late last year, shortly after securing historic new contracts with GM, Ford, and Stellantis. It is making unionization efforts at Tesla, BMW, Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Lucid, Nissan, Subaru, Rivian, Volvo, VW, and Toyota, which cumulatively employ approximately 150,000 people in manufacturing roles.
In November, UAW president Shawn Fain said that when the union returns to the bargaining table in 2028, it won’t just be with the Big Three (GM, Ford, and Stellantis) but rather the Big Five or Big Six.
