UAW challenges Mercedes-Benz union vote, asks NLRB for new election
United Auto Workers (UAW) members and supporters on a picket line outside the ZF Chassis Systems plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
Andi Rice | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union is challenging the results of last week’s organizing vote of Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama — in which workers voted against union representation — and is asking federal officials to order a new election.
The union alleges the German automaker fired four pro-union workers, forced workers to attend anti-union meetings and interfered with workers’ ability to advocate for the union, among a dozen or so other claims.
The National Labor Relations Board confirmed Friday afternoon that its Atlanta-based office received the UAW’s objections to the election.
Union organizing failed at the Alabama plant with 56% of the vote, or 2,642 workers, casting ballots against the UAW, according to the NLRB, which oversaw the election. More than 90% of the 5,075 eligible Mercedes-Benz workers voted in the election.
This is a developing story. Please check back for additional updates.
