In the end it was clear. Only 43.6 percent of employees at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, voted for union representation of their interests in May 2024. The car union United Auto Workers (UAW) had been so confident in advance that it would be able to get union membership this time. From the UAW’s perspective, however, the reasons for the union’s bankruptcy are not the employees’ lack of desire for representation, but rather the unfair methods of the car manufacturer from Baden-Württemberg. According to the accusation, the company intimidated, harassed and put pressure on employees in order to prevent union representation. Almost two years after the vote, the UAW detailed the alleged misconduct in a forty-eight-page document that was obtained by the F.A.Z. available, collected. Shortly before the election of a new state parliament in Baden-Württemberg, the state in which Mercedes has its headquarters, the union is now seeking the support of IG Metall in order to increase the pressure on the company. “Mercedes has long been considered a premier automaker with a reputation for being among the fairest companies in the world. But that reputation is beginning to crumble,” UAW Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Wade said Monday during a virtual news conference. “When workers began to organize, Mercedes responded with an aggressive anti-union campaign – using fear, pressure and intimidation.”Mercedes: No interference with workers’ rightsMercedes denies the UAW’s allegations. “Neither Mercedes-Benz US International (MBUSI) nor members of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz Group AG have interfered with the right of employees to establish union representation, nor have they taken retaliatory measures against individual employees in this context,” said a spokesman. In its dossier, the UAW states, among other things, that Mercedes forced employees to participate in a series of anti-union meetings before the 2024 election in Alabama. Mercedes also intimidated, threatened and fired union supporters. It goes on to say that “the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – the US agency that protects workers’ rights – has determined that MBUSI’s conduct in Alabama violated labor law and is prosecuting the company.” The UAW believes the conduct will also harm German employees. “The easier it is for Mercedes to exploit employees outside of Germany, the easier it is to relocate good jobs to other countries for higher profits,” Wade continued. The UAW’s goal is clear: it wants a new vote at Mercedes in Tuscaloosa. Union cites video message as evidence As evidence, the union cites, among other things, a video message to the employees in Tuscaloosa, in which the then production director and current development director Jörg Burzer informed them shortly before the vote that Federico Kochlowski would be taking over the head position at MBUSI from Michael Göbel. The UAW interprets both the change itself and Burzer’s statement in the video, “The only way forward is for us to work together as a team,” as anti-union behavior. Additionally, the UAW is basing its action against Mercedes on the case of Jeremy Kimbrell. He was one of the best-known union activists who attracted large numbers of people to the UAW in the run-up to the vote. In February 2025, Mercedes fired Kimbrell after more than 25 years of work because, as the union explains, he collected donations – an activity for which other employees were never prosecuted. The company is not commenting on the case. According to reports, however, labor court proceedings are ongoing for other offenses. IG Metall generally signals support, but says nothing about the individual allegations. “In the USA, too, colleagues must have the opportunity to get involved in trade unions freely and without intimidation,” said a spokeswoman. “The employees in Alabama have the full support of IG Metall for this.” Company calls Burzer accusation obviously false The company stated that Mercedes recognizes the right of employees to form employee representatives and pointed out that the union had already withdrawn the majority of its allegations following an investigation by the NLRB. “There are currently no final agency determinations regarding the few remaining allegations that have not yet been withdrawn by the UAW,” a spokesperson said. Mercedes obviously calls the accusation that CEO Burzer made anti-union statements in the video false. “Any claim that this statement, which calls for unity and cooperation at a time of major leadership change, is an anti-union message is a gross misinterpretation and is baseless,” the spokesperson continued. The Mercedes-Benz 2024 employee vote was a major setback in the UAW’s efforts to expand its reach in the auto industry. Traditionally, their territory was limited to the “Big Three”, i.e. General Motors, Ford and today’s Stellantis Group, which includes brands such as Jeep. It was largely left out of the US factories of foreign manufacturers, not least because they were mostly located in southern states that are considered less union-friendly and where the German manufacturers Mercedes-Benz, VW and BMW have also set up shop. More on the topic After the UAW was able to secure wage increases in a collective bargaining round with GM, Ford and Stellantis in the fall of 2023, it started a new campaign to move in and gain influence with foreign manufacturers. The UAW achieved success in the spring of 2024 when a majority of employees at the VW plant in Chattanooga voted to be represented by them in the future. But a setback came just a few weeks later when Mercedes workers in Alabama voted against a union presence. That defeat stalled the UAW’s expansion efforts, and it has since failed to move into other U.S. plants owned by foreign manufacturers. However, it only claimed success a few days ago when it announced a collective agreement with VW in Chattanooga.
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