Last week, the spotlight was on Vance, Alabama, as over 4,500 workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant cast their votes in a pivotal election. The question at hand: whether to join the United Auto Workers (UAW). Despite a fierce anti-union campaign spearheaded by Mercedes-Benz and Alabama’s Republican leadership, the workers ultimately voted against unionization. While declared a setback by many, this outcome underscores the significant power wielded by corporations and state governments in suppressing worker’s rights to organize. However, even in this defeat, the UAW’s efforts in Alabama have yielded tangible benefits for Mercedes-Benz workers, demonstrating the inherent power of collective worker action, unionized or not.
It’s a well-established fact that U.S. labor laws are inherently skewed against the workforce. Data consistently shows that a significant majority – over 60 million in 2023 alone – of American workers desire union membership but face insurmountable obstacles. Corporations spend staggering amounts, exceeding $400 million annually, on union avoidance consultants. Shockingly, employers are found to violate labor laws in over 40% of all union election campaigns, highlighting the aggressive tactics employed to stifle worker organization. Adding to these challenges, numerous states, including Alabama, have enacted “right-to-work” (RTW) laws. These laws, designed to weaken unions, demonstrably depress wages. Workers in RTW states earn, on average, 3.2% less than their counterparts in states without such legislation, translating to an annual loss of $1,670 for a full-time employee. The historical and primary intent of RTW laws has always been to undermine worker’s ability to organize effectively.
The UAW campaign at the Mercedes-Benz Alabama plant encountered the full force of both state and corporate opposition. In the lead-up to the election, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, along with five other Southern Republican governors, issued a stark warning. Their joint statement proclaimed that unionization would “certainly put our states’ jobs in jeopardy.” This stance is deeply rooted in the South’s historical resistance to unions, often fueled by racial prejudice. Despite accusing the UAW of using “scare tactics,” Governor Ivey herself employed fear-based strategies. During the union campaign, she signed into law measures designed to penalize companies that voluntarily cooperate with unions, further tilting the playing field against worker organization.
Mercedes-Benz subjected its Alabama workforce to relentless “captive audience” meetings. These mandatory sessions served as platforms for disseminating anti-union propaganda through repetitive talking points and videos. It’s worth noting that at least seven states have banned these captive audience meetings to safeguard workers’ freedom of thought and association. Mercedes-Benz management reportedly targeted team leaders, many aspiring to promotions, applying intense daily pressure to sway their vote against unionization.
However, fixating solely on the anti-union maneuvers of Alabama and Mercedes-Benz obscures a crucial takeaway: even when union elections are unsuccessful, workers can still achieve considerable improvements in their working conditions. Remarkably, just a month after the UAW announced that 30% of Mercedes-Benz workers had signed union cards, the company implemented a $2-per-hour raise for its highest-paid workers. Crucially, they also eliminated the two-tier wage system, a long-standing grievance that had prevented many workers from reaching higher pay levels. Adding to the changes, Mercedes-Benz ousted its long-serving U.S. CEO, a figure reportedly unpopular with the workforce. The newly appointed CEO pledged to “create a culture that puts you [the workers] first” and to “make decisions that are in your best interest.” Should the company fail to honor these promises, the Alabama Mercedes-Benz workers, emboldened by their recent efforts, may well launch another unionization drive and potentially achieve a different outcome, mirroring the successful union vote at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant earlier in the year.
The UAW’s recent wave of organizing efforts has had a ripple effect, prompting other automotive manufacturers to enhance job quality. The day following the UAW’s landmark strike victory and the signing of a lucrative contract with the “Big Three” automakers in October 2023, Toyota announced substantial raises, reaching up to $3.70 per hour, at its Kentucky plant. Honda followed suit with an 11% wage increase, while Hyundai boosted its U.S. worker pay by 14%, with a further 25% increase scheduled by 2028.
While none of these companies explicitly acknowledged that their actions were a direct response to the UAW’s successes, such a connection is hard to dismiss. Despite corporate rhetoric portraying unions as detrimental to workers, employers are acutely aware that unions drive up worker wages, improve access to essential benefits like paid leave, advance racial equity, and contribute to a stronger democratic society.
Workers who organize to improve their working conditions reap numerous benefits from unionization. Yet, as demonstrated by the Mercedes-Benz Alabama union vote, even when a union victory is not immediately achieved, the very act of organizing can yield positive results. The more workers unite and advocate for better jobs, the greater the likelihood that they, and workers across the board, will experience those improvements.
