Tuscaloosa Mercedes workers say majority have signed union cards

A drive to unionize Mercedes-Benz plant workers seems to be gathering momentum, as a Tuesday announcement said a majority have signed cards in support of joining the United Auto Workers.

A Jan. 10 release from the UAW put the workers' signing figure at about 30%. This latest announcement means pro-union votes have risen over the halfway mark. Back in January, local workers said they'd hold a public rally with UAW President Shawn Fain once they got past 50%.

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The UAW site indicates its rubrics are 30, 50 and 70. At 30%, workers make an announcement; at 50%, the public rally. At 70%, with an organizing committee consisting of workers from every shift and job classification, every group of workers, the UAW will "... demand that the company recognize our union. If they don’t, we file cards with the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) and take it to a vote."

Mercedes-Benz U.S. International released a statement in January: “Mercedes-Benz U.S. International has a strong record of success over the past 25-plus years operating as one team in Alabama. Central to our success is our positive team culture that includes an open-door policy. MBUSI has a proven record of competitively compensating team members and providing many additional benefits.

"We believe open and direct communication with our team members is the best path forward to ensure continued success. Whether to unionize is our team members’ decision, and MBUSI will respect whatever is decided.”

The Tuscaloosa County plant employs about 6,100 workers, producing SUVs such as the GLE, GLE coupé and GLS models, including the top of the line Mercedes-Maybach GLS. It's also launched all-electric EQS SUV and EQE, part of Mercedes' global goal to produce all-electric autos at seven locations on three continents.

About 45 suppliers have opened in Alabama to support Mercedes, roughly 20 of them in Tuscaloosa County alone. Among the newer are a factory in Bibb County, opened spring 2022, producing batteries for the all-electric models. It employs about 600.

Mercedes worker Jeremy Kimbrell spoke for his pro-union voters in a video announcement Monday, saying they "...are ready to win our union and a better life with the UAW.”

Among reasons cited are workers going years with what they called meager raises, a two-tier wage system, and misuse of temporary workers. These were also prominent factors listed in the UAW's fall 2023 Stand Up Strike at the Big Three (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler being the largest in the U.S.).

"We haven’t taken this step lightly," Kimbrell says in the video. "For years, we’ve fallen further behind while Mercedes has made billions.

“There comes a time when enough is enough. Now is that time. We know what the company, what the politicians, and what their multimillionaire buddies will say. They’ll say now is not the right time. Or that this is not the right way. But here’s the thing. This is our decision. It’s our life. It’s our community. These are our families. It’s up to us.

"It’s not up to Mercedes management, or any politician, or anyone else."

That was likely in reference to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who berated unionizing efforts in a January opinion column posted on the Alabama Department of Commerce site. It read, in part: "Unfortunately, the Alabama model for economic success is under attack. A national labor union, the United Automotive Workers, is ramping up efforts to target non-union automakers throughout the United States, including ours here in Alabama.”

After contract agreements with the Big Three in late 2023, the UAW announced plans to organize about 150,000 workers at more than a dozen currently non-union factories, most in the South. According to the UAW, the Stand Up Strike secured raises ranging from 33% to 160%; swifter progression to top salary brackets; improvements to retirement security; and commitments to bring electric vehicle and battery plant jobs under union commitments.

Efforts in 1999 and 2000 to unionize the Tuscaloosa County Mercedes plant failed.

How Tuscaloosa lured Mercedes

The 1993 announcement that Tuscaloosa had won the first Mercedes-Benz factory outside Germany was a surprise to many, with Alabama considered a longshot. The German automaker chose partly due to the quantity of land near Vance, and easy access to the Interstate. Mercedes-Benz officials also noted the gently rolling hills, and Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama's cultural and aesthetic attractions helped them feel at home.

Other factors thought to have played a part included tax rebates — Alabama automakers have received more than $1.6 billion in incentives since 1993 — and the lack of unions. Just 7.2% of Alabama workers, or about 149,000 people, belonged to a union in 2022, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the highest in the South, but still below the national average of 10.1%.

The Vance plant swung opens doors for other Alabama automakers, including Honda, producing in Lincoln, Alabama, since 2001; Hyundai, in Montgomery since 2005; and Toyota, in Huntsville since 2003. In 2018, Toyota and Mazda announced a joint partnership for manufacturing in Limestone County. About 50,000 Alabamians now work in auto manufacturing, producing 1.3 million vehicles annually, adding up to about $9 billion in exports.

Kimbrell's video statement suggested that, despite those successes, workers haven't reaped benefits:

"After 2008 and 2009, some of our co-workers were forced to leave the company. Consecutive CEOs said they’d be brought back once things improved. Things did improve, but they were never allowed to return and were replaced within six months by temporary workers at half the pay," he said. "These same temporary workers then worked for up to eight years before receiving full time jobs.

"Also during this time, our management gave us a 42-cent raise over a six-year period while making record profits. And these same record profits weren’t enough to prevent Mercedes from imposing an unfair two-tier pay scale just as our children were entering the workforce."

Auto workers in Alabama make an average $64,682 per year, above the median household income of $59,674, according to a November Alabama Arise report. But autoworkers' real wages declined 11% between 2002 and 2019, the report indicated, and Black, Hispanic and women workers are paid substantially less, while that state average lags behind national averages.

"We’re exercising our right to fight for a better life. And we won’t stop until we’ve made things right for the workers who build the cars and make the company run," Kimbrell says in the video.

"We organized our plant by ourselves. We are our union. So we’re here to tell you that we are the majority. That Mercedes workers are ready to stand up. And we’re asking all of you watching this, whether you’re an autoworker at Mercedes or just someone who believes in a better life for working class people in Alabama and beyond: stand with us.

"Support our cause, and join our movement. Thank you."

As he finishes, a group of workers assembled behind raise hands and say in unison: "Stand up!"

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Effort to form union at Tuscaloosa Mercedes plant gains momentum