(VANCE, ALABAMA) - A super-majority of Mercedes-Benz Workers have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a vote to join the United Auto Workers (UAW).

The more than 5,000 Workers employed at the Mercedes Plant located outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama are the second group of Southern Auto Workers to call for a Union Election in less than three weeks.

Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee filed for their election in mid-March and will have their vote to join the UAW this week (April 17th through today, the 19th).  

A new video announcing the election filing at Mercedes features Alabama Auto Workers at a recent rally with UAW President Shawn Fain.

In the video, Mercedes Workers speak out on why they’re voting yes to join the UAW.

Jeremy Kimbrell, a Measurement Machine Operator at Mercedes, said: “We are standing up for every Worker in Alabama.  At Mercedes, at Hyundai and at hundreds of other companies, Alabama Workers have made billions of dollars for executives and shareholders, but we haven’t gotten our fair share.  We’re going to turn things around with this vote.  We’re going to end the Alabama discount.” 

“We are voting for safer jobs at Mercedes,” added Moesha Chandler, an Assembly Team Member at Mercedes. “I’m still young, but I’m already having serious problems with my shoulders and hands.  When you’re still in your twenties and your body is breaking down, that’s not right.  By winning our Union, we’ll have the power to make the work safer and more sustainable.” 

Mercedes management is running an aggressive Anti-Union Campaign, but that has not blunted the Workers’ momentum.

By late February, less than two months after Mercedes Workers went public with their drive to join the UAW, a majority of them had signed Union Cards.

The UAW has filed Federal Labor Charges against Mercedes for illegal Union Busting, as well as charges in a German Court for labor violations that could net billions in penalties for the German Automaker. 

The Mercedes Workers are part of the national movement of Non-Union Auto Workers organizing to join the UAW in the wake of the historic Stand Up Strike victory at the Big Three Auto Companies.

More than 10,000 Non-Union Auto Workers have signed Union Cards in recent months, with public campaigns launched at Mercedes, Volkswagen, Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama and Toyota in Troy, Missouri.

Workers at over two dozen other facilities are also actively organizing.

To Directly Access This Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: Mercedes-Benz Workers in Alabama File for Union Election as Southern Autoworkers Stand Up to Join the UAW - UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America