Following its landmark contract deals for its membership at the Detroit Big Three automakers, the United Auto Workers union is not finished with its job just yet.
Though many non-union automakers such as Honda, Toyota and Tesla have raised wages as a way to keep up with its union-backed counterparts, some workers are taking a step further.
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In a statement made on Jan. 29, the UAW announced that over 10,000 autoworkers across 13 non-union automakers have signed union cards – the first step in the process for representation by the union.
Notably, two factories in Alabama – the Tuscaloosa plant run by Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF) – Get Free Report and the Hyundai (HYMLF) – Get Free Report plant in Montgomery have recently gone public with their unionization campaigns.
Mercedes-Benz workers in their statement with the UAW cite that over 30% of the workforce at their factory has signed a union card. Workers here state that while the factory has made millions of cars for Mercedes over the years, much was to be realized by the workforce.
“For three decades, Mercedes has pulled billions in profit off the millions of cars we’ve built,” they declare in their campaign video. “Mercedes executive pay goes up, while Alabama autoworkers fall behind. The brand may be foreign, but the labor is American.”
BREAKING: Hyundai workers in Alabama are attempting to form the company’s first U.S. union.
They’re some of the lowest-paid auto workers, making nearly $10/hr less than union workers.
Now, more than 1,000 have signed union authorization cards. That’s over 30% of their plant. pic.twitter.com/m0vSOdQ0LG
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) February 1, 2024
Though Hyundai announced that it would be raising factory worker pay 25% by 2028, workers at its Alabama plant report less-than-ideal conditions, noting that the place is a revolving door for injury-related employee turnover.
“We done had close to 9,000 employees,” says Hyundai autoworker Robert Lee Kennedy Jr. in a video by More Perfect Union on X. “And a small percent of ‘em make it to retirement. Most of ‘em either got injury, or fired because of their injuries. The workers are fed up and tired, and they want a change.”
Additionally, the South Korean automaker has also been accused of trying to illegally preventing workers from organizing, as well as unfair labor practices.
“They don’t want any UAW material in the plant. I was supplied with material to help educate the team member, and I took it into a break room, a non-production area. My group leader comes in and says ‘Hey, you can’t have this on company property,'” Hyundai worker Timothy Cripple said in the video. “So he takes my flyers and he gets rid of ’em.”
“And they’re making us watch anti-union videos all day long,” Kennedy Jr. added.
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In a statement to the Alabama Daily News, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama spokesperson Scott Posey noted that the plant is “thriving because of the strong team-oriented atmosphere we’ve cultivated and the pride we share in building safe, high-quality vehicles,” and that while employees can decide to be unionized – “our teams have preferred and benefited from direct engagement and communications with management.”
Alabama governor Kay Ivey has not welcomed the union. In a Jan. 10 statement, she categorized the UAW as one of “out-of-state special interest groups,” noting that “their special interests do not include Alabama or the men and women earning a career in Alabama’s automotive industry.”
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