It’s been a few days since the union election at the Mercedes-Benz factory complex in Alabama, and the disappointment of losing is still fresh. Despite months of dedicated effort and a strong foundation, the vote didn’t go our way, falling short by 597 votes out of nearly 5,000. This is especially tough considering the significant support we had built, with many workers seemingly changing their minds in the final weeks.
Understanding exactly what went wrong and the factors contributing to this loss will take time. However, with the experience still vivid, I want to share some immediate reflections. Having worked at Mercedes for almost 25 years and participated in multiple unionization attempts, this was the first time we reached a formal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election to decide on union representation.
Before going through an election process, the full scope and the company’s response remain unknown. Even basic information, like the precise number of workers, or the inclusion of certain categories like students, temporary staff, or contractors in the bargaining unit, was unclear until the election process began.
Now, we have a comprehensive employee list, something we never had before. While these workers will now experience the consequences of company decisions without union representation, this also presents an opportunity. Should Mercedes-Benz fail to keep its promises – as is often the case – we can quickly highlight this and remind workers of the security and guarantees a union contract provides. With a union, we wouldn’t need to rely on the company’s word; everything would be in writing.
Worker-Led Organizing: The Core Strategy for UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama
Our organizing strategy, while not formally documented, was rooted in a worker-led approach based on past experiences. This principle remains fundamental: for any successful union campaign, the workers themselves must be at the forefront. While union organizers and the international union provide crucial support and resources, the drive and initiative must come from the employees.
Our campaign for Uaw Mercedes Benz Alabama was indeed worker-led. However, as the election approached and organizers assisted in the final preparations for the vote, there was a noticeable shift. Worker visibility seemed to decrease, volunteer participation waned, and responses to communications and meeting attendance declined compared to earlier stages.
Moving forward, a truly worker-led campaign from start to finish is essential. This is an area where we could have been more effective.
Reputable Leadership: Building Trust for UAW at Mercedes Benz Alabama
One of the strengths of this union drive was the exceptional quality and reputation of our organizing leaders. These individuals were largely respected and well-liked by their colleagues. Importantly, they maintained good work records and attendance, preventing the company from using disciplinary actions to discredit them as union supporters. The credibility of our leadership team was a significant point of pride.
Leveraging Team Leaders and Identifying Key Influencers
Early in the campaign, we successfully identified leaders with the mobility and network access needed to quickly spread awareness and build support. This initial strategy focused on speed and reach. We recognized the value of team leaders, who oversee groups of six to ten workers and can influence entire production lines.
However, we also learned a critical lesson: team leaders, due to their close proximity to management and potential for promotion, are particularly vulnerable to company pressure. In the weeks leading up to the most intense union busting efforts, management heavily targeted team leaders. Many who were initially pro-union flipped to anti-union and subsequently influenced workers on their lines in the critical two weeks before the vote.
Focusing on Regular Team Members for Sustained Support
While team leaders can be valuable allies, relying too heavily on them is risky given their susceptibility to management influence. The key takeaway is the need to identify and engage a sufficient number of regular team members. These workers can potentially even reinforce the pro-union stance of their team leaders, creating a more resilient support base.
It’s a risk-reward scenario. Having team leaders on board offers advantages, but their proximity to management poses a significant risk. We experienced considerable setbacks in this area during the UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama campaign.
In contrast, our leaders who worked in mobile equipment operation or off-line roles proved to be invaluable assets. However, even these off-line positions became targets during the aggressive anti-union campaign. The aim of such campaigns is to instill fear – fear of job outsourcing, fear of displacement by more senior workers – making the status quo seem preferable to the uncertainty of change. Lies and rumors are used to create this fear.
Many off-line workers, including those not in leadership roles, became apprehensive in the final weeks. They concluded that their current situation was “good enough” and shifted their support to the company.
The Importance of List-Building for UAW Organizing
Maintaining accurate and up-to-date lists of employees is crucial. It’s the only way to understand the workforce size, identify areas of strength and weakness in support, and effectively target organizing efforts.
Our list-building efforts for UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama were quite effective. Without company-provided data, we underestimated the total employee count by only 75 workers in a unit of 5,075. The company publicly claimed a workforce of 6,100.
Public Campaigning: Demonstrating Visible Union Support
Publicly demonstrating union support is vital for a successful campaign. It builds confidence among undecided workers and encourages them to support and ultimately vote for unionization.
Our organizing leadership team effectively made their support public. However, as the UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama campaign progressed, we observed a growing reluctance among many workers, particularly team leaders and those in specialized roles, to publicly commit. They hedged their bets, fearing repercussions if the union vote failed. This hesitancy was evident in their reluctance to sign union authorization cards despite verbally expressing pro-union sentiments. These were the workers who significantly shifted their stance in the end.
A worker unwilling to sign a union authorization card is unlikely to remain committed. It’s a major warning sign. In the final days of the campaign and while observing the election, it was noticeable that fewer workers were wearing union hats, buttons, and bracelets, items they had proudly displayed just months before.
Public visibility is critical. We needed to strengthen this aspect, especially in the later stages of the campaign.
Winning Hearts and Minds with Kindness and Respect
Winning over colleagues requires kindness and respectful communication. Alienating people through name-calling or negativity is counterproductive. Maintaining civility at all times is essential.
Our workplace has a popular Facebook group among employees. Navigating social media requires caution. Union supporters must maintain honesty and positivity, while opponents often resort to dishonesty and negativity.
If engaging in social media discussions, taking the high road is crucial. Many people use these platforms for entertainment, and it’s easy to fall into unproductive arguments.
We were successful in maintaining a positive approach early on but became drawn into negativity later in the UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama campaign.
Diversifying Issues and Messaging
Capitalizing on company shortcomings is important, but it’s a delicate balance. Highlighting areas of failure is necessary, but focusing too narrowly on a single issue can be risky, as companies can quickly change course.
Two-tier pay was a significant issue for us. We believed the company was too entrenched in this system to change it, but they did. While I may have focused too specifically on this, it was a clear and easily understood grievance. Our slogan, “End the Alabama Discount,” gained traction. Interestingly, even after the company eliminated two-tier pay and provided a $2 raise, we continued to gain support.
We then shifted our focus to the issue of trust in leadership. Three weeks before the election, the company replaced the CEO, leading to a “give them a chance” mentality that ultimately swayed the vote. Having a broader range of issues to address is advisable.
The Impact of Intense Union Busting Tactics
Why did we lose the UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama election? The playing field is simply not level. Weak U.S. labor laws favor employers. The short timeframe of six weeks between filing for election and the vote itself gives the company immense power to influence the outcome.
Mercedes-Benz had been showing anti-union videos weekly for months with minimal impact. Once we filed for the election, these videos were shown daily. Text messages were sent to employee phones, and anti-union messages were displayed on the company app and monitors throughout the plant. The company actively encouraged “no” votes.
Three weeks before the election, Mercedes-Benz not only replaced its CEO but also brought in professional union-busting lawyers who conducted group meetings with workers for two weeks.
Management Assessment and Targeted Anti-Union Messaging
Plant supervisors had assessed workers’ perceived union support, rating them on a scale of one to five. Workers identified as “soft commits” or undecided were called into meetings and subjected to fear-based anti-union narratives by these union busters.
Some of these consultants falsely claimed to be former lawyers, NLRB agents, or past union members, presenting themselves as neutral while delivering overwhelmingly anti-union messages.
A consistent theme in these meetings was “Give the new CEO a chance.” Upon returning to their work areas, workers faced further pressure from team leaders who had been “brainwashed” and reinforced the “give the CEO a chance” message.
The Timing of Announcing Card Signatures
What could we have done differently in the UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama campaign? Mercedes-Benz didn’t launch its aggressive anti-union campaign until after we announced reaching 30 percent union card signatures. While this announcement generated initial excitement, it likely triggered the company’s intensified response sooner than it would have otherwise.
Furthermore, the 30 percent announcement fueled calls for an immediate election, diverting focus from the crucial task of building a pro-union majority. While 30 percent is the legal minimum to file for an election, it’s far from enough to win. The initial buzz from the 30 percent announcement was positive, but perhaps delaying or forgoing the announcement altogether would have been a better strategy. This is debatable.
At 50 percent support, we made another announcement. At this point, an influential coworker mistakenly declared on social media that we were no longer in the card-signing phase but in “vote mode.” He referenced an outdated agreement from ten years prior, which was no longer valid. This misstep made it significantly harder to sign up new workers.
Teamwork and unified messaging are essential. Individual actions that contradict the collective strategy undermine the core principles of union organizing.
Re-evaluating Flyers with QR Codes for Public Support
Looking back, our approach to using flyers with QR codes to gather public union support could have been improved. Two months before the election, workers could use these flyers to publicly declare their support. This was intended as a powerful way to demonstrate visible solidarity.
However, some workers who publicly signed the list later claimed it was done without their consent, despite their own actions. While likely dishonest, this created doubt and potentially swayed undecided workers.
In hindsight, requiring verbal or written confirmation of each worker’s willingness to go public and either releasing the list earlier or delaying signature collection to shorten the timeframe might have been more effective.
Ultimately, despite facing one of the most aggressive anti-union campaigns in the automotive industry in recent decades, some uncertain workers were swayed by the company’s message, took the “give the CEO a chance” bait, and chose the status quo over worker-led change. They opted to “give him a year.”
However, CEOs are temporary, and company promises are unreliable. Only a union and a legally binding contract can guarantee that Mercedes-Benz respects its workers and honors its commitments.
Whether it takes a year or slightly longer, our organizing committee will be back, advocating for workers and reminding them that there is a better way – the union way – for UAW Mercedes Benz Alabama.
