- The UAW has accused Mercedes of violating Germany’s Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains.
- The union claims the automaker threatened, intimidated, and fired supporters.
- If found guilty, the union says Mercedes could face bans on government contracts as well as billions in penalties.
The UAW is stepping up its war against foreign automakers and taking the battle to their home turf. As part of this effort, the labor union has filed charges against Mercedes in Germany.
The union accuses Mercedes-Benz Group AG of conducting an “aggressive anti-union campaign” against U.S. autoworkers in Alabama. They contend this is a “clear human rights violation under the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains.”
More: Mercedes Workers In Alabama To File For Vote On Joining UAW
While only time will tell how things unfold, the UAW said Mercedes could face “billions in penalties, including significant fines and bans on government contracts,” if found guilty. While that seems unlikely, the union said the move is a significant test of the German law which went into effect last year.
The union said the law “clearly prohibits companies from disregarding workers’ rights to form trade unions.” This is at the heart of the issue as the UAW claims they’re facing a “fierce backlash” over attempts to organize assembly and battery plants in Vance, Alabama.
In particular, the union claims workers have been intimidated, threatened, and fired. Seven alleged violations are mentioned in the filing and it claims a union supporter with Stage 4 cancer was fired over a “zero-tolerance policy on cellphones.” However, the union says the company had initially allowed him to have his phone so he could “receive updates on the availability of his scarce chemo drug.”
Furthermore, the union says Mercedes-Benz U.S. International CEO Michael Göbel “attempted to chill union activity and violated their freedom of association”, with a January letter supposedly filled with “phrases used by anti-union consultants designed to stoke fear, uncertainty, and division.” Göbel is also accused of holding a mandatory plant-wide meeting where he allegedly said “I don’t believe the UAW can help us to be better” and said workers “shouldn’t have to pay union dues that generate millions of dollars per year for an organization where you have no transparency where that money is used.”
Another plant-wide meeting is mentioned in the filing as supervisors allegedly attempted to stop supporters from passing out UAW hats.
The move in Germany follows similar efforts in the United States, where the union says workers have filed multiple charges with the National Labor Relations Board. They’ve also requested a government injunction to end “illegal union busting” activity.
