Workers at a Mercedes Benz factory in Vance, Alabama will vote between May 13 and May 17 on whether to join the United Auto Workers union and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said on Thursday.
The vote will come after months of plant organization by workers who say compensation has stalled at the factory, widely credited with starting Alabama’s automotive industry in the 1990s.
A spokeswoman with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) confirmed the election dates in a statement on Thursday. The NLRB expects to count votes and announce results on May 17.
Mercedes-Benz “fully respects our team members’ choice whether to unionize, and we look forward to participating in the election process to ensure every team member has a chance to cast their secret-ballot vote, as well as having access to the information necessary to make an informed choice,” a spokesperson told Spectrum News.
“Our primary focus is always to provide a safe and supportive work environment for our team to build safe and superior vehicles for the world. Open and direct communication with our team members is the best path to ensure continued success.”
The Mercedes factories are the second non-union auto plants to reach the point of holding an election since the UAW began targeting them last year. According to filings with the NLRB, the election will involve 5,200 employees at the plant.
Auto workers in Alabama are generally paid well by state standards. An Alabama Arise report published in November said workers in the state’s automobile industry make an average of $64,682 yearly, higher than the median household income of $59,674.
However, the report also found that Alabama workers make less than their national counterparts and that real wages in the state industry have fallen 11% between 2002 and 2019.
The UAW said in February that most workers at Mercedes-Benz had signaled support for a union. In applying for an election earlier this month, the UAW said a “supermajority” of workers at the plant had signed a petition for the union, though it did not provide figures. The UAW said in January that it would call for an election when 70% of workers signaled their support for the union.
The union drive has drawn opposition from Gov. Kay Ivey and the Business Council of Alabama. Ivey said in February that a union would take “hope and prosperity from our folks.” She also signed a statement with six governors of southern states released earlier this week claiming that the union drive would lead to job cuts.