Why some Alabama Mercedes-Benz workers oppose union: ‘There’s no way I’d bring the UAW in’

It didn’t take long for team leader Melissa Howell, 19 years on the job at Mercedes-Benz in Vance, to realize that this latest attempt to organize under the United Auto Workers was different.

“There’s wasn’t one, single moment,” Howell said. “It was just quick, a short period of time. I realized, this is serious this time.”

Jay White, in supplier quality operations, said he knew from the number of people openly talking about a union.

Jeff Cheek, after 11 years with the company, said he’s not sure how next month’s union election among the auto factory’s 6,000 employees will go.

“I’ll say this,” he chuckled, “if the threat of a union gets us more money, I ain’t gonna turn that down.”

Voting is scheduled to take place May 13 and 17 on whether workers at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI) will join the UAW. Vote totals are expected May 17.

The election is the capper to a whirlwind six months where the union was able to gather a supermajority of the workforce to sign union cards and petition for an election. With an estimated 5,200 signing cards, one would assume the outcome of the election will follow that of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant, which overwhelmingly voted for the UAW last week.

Pro-union workers at the plant attribute their success in organizing this time - after several unsuccessful attempts - to national leadership’s willingness to let them carry out their own strategy.

UAW President Shawn Fain said in an interview this weekend he thinks workers at Mercedes “definitely want a union, and I believe a big majority there will vote in favor.”

But for some long-time employees at the auto plant, the union promises ring hollow. White attributes the UAW’s success so far to the “amount of money behind it.”

Cheek said his father’s experience in the United Transportation Union has made him wary of the UAW, and White has friends who have belonged to unions.

“I speak for myself,” White said. “I don’t need anyone else to speak for me. My success or failure is ultimately up to me. It’s my personal responsibility. The side effects of the union are things like shop stewards, and pushing you out if you have skills but don’t have seniority.”

All three employees said they believe much of the union push is coming from young workers hired in recent years who hear the union promises of better pay and benefits. They also say Mercedes-Benz brought some of the pushback on itself by policies in recent years.

“The company is at fault, for sure,” Howell said. “There are times they were going after the almighty buck. The company has got some responsibility for how this push is going so hard. People aren’t happy.”

MBUSI — Mercedes-Benz US International plant in Vance, Ala., in an undated shot provided by the company.

Specifically, they name a few of the issues raised by union supporters - two-tier pay, temp workers, lump sums instead of raises. White said two-tier pay is no longer an issue, while temps were an industry wide response to the Great Recession of more than a decade ago.

But Cheek said measures like these changed the character of the plant’s workforce and made a union possible.

“The past few years, Mercedes has hired people they wouldn’t normally have hired,” he said.

“When Mercedes brought temps in, they started hiring at lower pay grades. Instead of getting people who are changing careers, you’re getting people from McDonald’s.”

A younger workforce, White said, some on their “first, best job,” are relying on the promises of what a union will bring them.

But the union drive has also caught up older employees, they say. White was surprised to see one long-time employee on pro-union literature, while Howell said she encountered a co-worker whose support surprised her.

“I said, tell me what’s happening. He gave me specifics. I’m the type person that, even if I don’t agree with you, I’m going to listen to you because it’s going to help me solve the problem,” she said. “Some of them have valid concerns. There are some of them talking about things that just aren’t going to happen.”

White said he feels there will be a significant pushback when the vote happens next month, but he was caught off guard by how many workers voted in the Chattanooga election. About 3,600 employees of the plant’s 5,500 workforce participated in the election, with the UAW garnering 73% of the vote.

Howell said she knows a co-worker who signed a union card, but has said she plans to vote against the UAW after reading up on the union.

“From my point of view, I and my friends don’t want a union, and we’re making a push that everybody votes. That everyone has their voice heard.”

Cheek said he believes some employees see the vote as a way to “get back at the company,” but he does not believe the union is the “lesser of two evils.”

“For me and a bunch of my co-workers, the UAW is not the answer,” he said. “The UAW’s history is kinda crooked. They don’t have the best track record. They’ve always eyeballed the South as like a crown jewel. As unhappy as I may be, it’s not for me to invite them to come in. That’s unnecessary.”