Current:Home > NewsUAW says a majority of workers at an Alabama Mercedes plant have signed cards supporting the union-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
UAW says a majority of workers at an Alabama Mercedes plant have signed cards supporting the union
View Date:2024-12-23 12:01:31
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers said Tuesday that a majority of workers at a Mercedes plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have signed cards in support of joining the union.
The plant in Vance, Alabama, is the second one to reach more than 50% of workers signing up, according to the union. Earlier in February, the UAW announced that a majority of workers at Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, had signed union cards.
Mercedes worker Jeremy Kimbrell said in a statement Tuesday that employees at the plant have gone without what he called meaningful pay raises for several years. The plant, he said, also has a two-tier wage system for workers and abuses temporary workers.
Mercedes said in a statement that for 25 years in Alabama it has a record of “competitively compensating team members and providing many additional benefits.” The company said it believes in open and direct communication with employees.
The Alabama factory complex has about 6,100 employees.
After winning strong contracts with Detroit’s three automakers last year, the union has embarked on an effort to organize all nonunion auto plants in the U.S., including Tesla’s assembly and battery factories in Texas, California and Nevada.
The UAW said its organizing drive will target more than a dozen U.S. plants run by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo. Tesla also is on the list, along with EV startups Rivian and Lucid.
After the Detroit Three contracts were approved, many nonunion factories announced worker pay increases. UAW President Shawn Fain has called the raises the “UAW bump,” saying that they were given in an effort to thwart union organizing efforts.
The union says its strategy includes calling for an election at factories when about 70% of the workers sign up. A union can seek an election run by the National Labor Relations Board once a majority of workers support it.
The UAW pacts with General Motors, Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis include 25% pay raises by the time the contracts end in April of 2028. With cost-of-living increases, workers will see about 33% in raises for a top assembly wage of $42 per hour, plus annual profit sharing, the union said.
veryGood! (18154)
Related
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 11
- Hawaii authorities evacuate area of Lahaina due to brush fire near site of deadly blaze
- Louisiana refinery fire mostly contained but residents worry about air quality
- Illegal logging thrives in Mexico City’s forest-covered boroughs, as locals strive to plant trees
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- Women working in Antarctica say they were left to fend for themselves against sexual harassers
- Loving mother. Devoted father 'taken away from us forever: Families mourn Jacksonville shooting victims
- Illegal logging thrives in Mexico City’s forest-covered boroughs, as locals strive to plant trees
- ‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $300 Crossbody Bag for Just $89
Ranking
- Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago Gives Birth, Welcomes Twins With Jesse Sullivan
- Riders in various states of undress cruise Philadelphia streets in 14th naked bike ride
- Texans vs. Saints: How to watch Sunday's NFL preseason clash
- Ryan Reynolds ditches the trolling to celebrate wife Blake Lively in a sweet birthday post
- Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
- How a pair of orange socks connected two Colorado cold case murders committed on the same day in 1982
- Dozens of wildfires burn in Louisiana amid scorching heat: This is unprecedented
- Steve Miller recalls late '60s San Francisco music having 'a dark side' but 'so much beauty'
Recommendation
-
Parts of Southern California under quarantine over oriental fruit fly infestation
-
How a pair of orange socks connected two Colorado cold case murders committed on the same day in 1982
-
Trump's social media attacks bring warnings of potential legal consequences
-
Biden is ‘old,’ Trump is ‘corrupt': AP-NORC poll has ominous signs for both in possible 2024 rematch
-
Is Kyle Richards Finally Ready to File for Divorce From Mauricio Umansky? She Says...
-
Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to become a hurricane and move toward Florida, forecasters say
-
A groundbreaking exhibition on the National Mall shows monuments aren't set in stone
-
An ode to Harvey Milk for Smithsonian Folkways' 75th birthday