Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
UAW calls on US regulator to annul Mercedes plant recognition vote, citing illegal anti-union behaviour by German car giant
United Auto Workers union supporters attend a rally, May 4, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala.

US UNION the United Auto Workers (UAW) has called on the country’s National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) to annul the result of last week’s failed recognition ballot at an Alabama Mercedes-Benz plant.

It wants the NLRB to order a new election, citing illegal anti-union activity by the German car manufacturer ahead of the vote, in which 56 per cent of workers voted against unionisation.

“Over 2,000 Mercedes workers voted yes to win their union after an unprecedented, illegal anti-union campaign waged against them by their employer. What that tells us is that in a fair fight, where Mercedes is held accountable to following the law, workers will win their union,” UAW says.

It accuses Mercedes-Benz of firing four pro-union workers and allowing anti-union workers to lobby colleagues on company time, while denying that right to union supporters.

The NLRB confirmed it has received the request and is reviewing it. It is also investigating six other unfair labour practice charges filed by the union since March, including that Mercedes disciplined workers for talking about unionisation at work and prevented distribution of union materials.

The company is also now officially under investigation for anti-union conduct at the Alabama plant by Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control.

Many German manufacturers have been shifting production to the United States, as sanctions on Russia force up the price of energy in Europe and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act provides attractive subsidies which have prompted EU complaints.

German firms announced a record $15.7 billion (£12.3bn) of capital commitments in US projects last year, nearly double the $8.2bn (£6.4bn) of just a year earlier, according to analysis by the Financial Times. Mercedes was responsible for the second-biggest of all such investments after Volkswagen.

Manufacturing output in Germany has in contrast dropped two years in a row and is now nearly 10 per cent down on 2018 figures. Germany’s economy is projected to shrink by 0.5 per cent this year, with analysts saying the country faces its most serious slump in two decades.

Mercedes’ behaviour in Alabama could suggest German firms hope to exploit the US’s weaker trade union rights as they increasingly shift operations offshore.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
GR
Global Routes / 25 June 2025
25 June 2025

This is a remarkable set of hop hip, salsa, reggae, soul, cumbia and traditional Mexican music finds TONY BURKE

GR
Album reviews / 23 June 2025
23 June 2025

New releases from Madalitso Band, Gabriel da Rosa, and Femi Kuti

TB
Music / 12 May 2025
12 May 2025

A New Awakening: Adventures In British Jazz 1966 - 1971, G3, and Buck Owens 

Platform working
Features / 5 May 2025
5 May 2025

TONY BURKE says an International Labour Conference next month will try for a new convention to protect often super-exploited workers providing services such as ride-hailing (taxis) such as Uber as well as fast food and package delivery

Similar stories
Volkswagen employees demonstrate in front of the Volkswagen
Features / 30 November 2024
30 November 2024
TONY BURKE reports on growing industrial unrest as Volkswagen plans its first German plant closures in 90 years amid its struggles to gain a place in the growing EV market, putting it on a collision course with IG Metall
ALL CHANGE? National Labor Relations Board HQ in Washington
Features / 15 November 2024
15 November 2024
Too few trade unionists voted for Kamala Harris to make a difference. TONY BURKE provides an explanation