The United Auto Workers (UAW) asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week for a new union vote at two Mercedes-Benz factories in Alabama.
In an NLRB private election that ended recently, 56% of workers voted against joining the union. The final tally showed 2,045 workers voting for joining and 2,642 workers voting against joining UAW.
Vincent Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, said in a Wall Street Journal column on Sunday, “The National Labor Relations Board, under Biden appointee Lauren McFerran, has potentially given the UAW a back-door way to overturn the election, disenfranchising the workers who thought they made their position clear.”
“Last year the NLRB unilaterally rewrote federal law in its Cemex decision. Previously, if the board found that an employer committed an unfair labor practice during an election, it would almost always have required a second vote. But now the partisan NLRB can simply force the employer to bargain with the union—no matter how many workers voted no. Unions now have more reason to claim they were cheated, hoping that some accusation will stick,” Vernuccio wrote.
Vernuccio told 1819 News on Tuesday, “The UAW is trying to very clearly negate the vote of thousands of workers at the Mercedes plants and disenfranchise their vote simply because they don’t like the vote.”
“The workers spoke. They rejected the UAW. The UAW doesn’t like the result, and now they’re trying to disenfranchise thousands of Alabama autoworkers, and you have a very partisan NLRB that may be helping them with that,” Vernuccio said.
UAW said in their NLRB complaint Mercedes fired four employees who supported the union, prevented pro-union employees from campaigning, and forced employees to watch anti-union videos.
“Over 2,000 Mercedes workers voted yes to win their union after an unprecedented, illegal anti-union campaign waged against them by their employer. What that tells us is that in a fair fight, where Mercedes is held accountable to following the law, workers will win their union,” the UAW said in a statement. “All these workers ever wanted was a fair shot at having a voice on the job and a say in their working conditions. And that’s what we’re asking for here. Let’s get a vote at Mercedes in Alabama where the company isn’t allowed to fire people, isn’t allowed to intimidate people, and isn’t allowed to break the law and their own corporate code, and let the workers decide.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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