The United Autoworkers Union (UAW) scored a big win with the Tennessee-based VW plant’s vote to organize, but it’s not infallible. Last week, workers at Mercedes-Benz’s facility in Alabama voted against unionizing, with 56 percent saying they were against it. While the situation isn’t a total defeat for the UAW, it will have to wait a year to try again, and America’s political climate could have shifted dramatically by then.
The UAW had an uphill battle in the Alabama plant, as Mercedes jumped into the fight in the “no” camp. Workers were told that a vote for the union could endanger their jobs and others in the state, and Alabama’s deep red political map likely didn’t help the UAW’s cause. The governor recently approved a bill that gives her the power to remove incentives from companies that recognize unions, and several businesses also lobbied against the effort.
Though workers voted against the union, they might still benefit from its work with other automakers. Some non-union companies voluntarily raised pay for employees after the UAW’s victory against Detroit’s Big Three last year, but there’s nothing forcing better salaries at the Mercedes plant.
A defeat in this vote doesn’t necessarily mean the UAW is dead in the water. The closeness of the two sides suggests that, without MB’s meddling and political pressure, it could succeed in the next round. That said, Alabama is probably the least likely state to flip blue anytime soon, so the union could be facing another fight in 2025.
[Images: James R. Martin via Shutterstock]
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