Governor Kay Ivey, along with the governors of Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, is opposing the United Auto Workers (UAW) unionization efforts.
The Governor's move follows that of the Mercedes-Benz workers in Vance, who have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a vote to join UAW.
The governors issued a joint statement, saying, "We the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas are highly concerned about the unionization campaign driven by misinformation and scare tactics that the UAW has brought into our states. As governors, we have a responsibility to our constituents to speak up when we see special interests looking to come into our state and threaten our jobs and the values we live by."
The governors stressed that their states had worked diligently to set conditions for recruiting companies to invest and create good, high-paying jobs and opportunities for the communities they are in and that UAW's efforts could put that in jeopardy.
"In fact, this year already, all of the UAW automakers have announced layoffs," they wrote.
"In America, we respect our workforce, and we do not need to pay a third party to tell us who can pick up a box or flip a switch," the governors added. "No one wants to hear this, but it's the ugly reality. We've seen it play out this way every single time a foreign automaker plant has been unionized; not one of those plants remains in operation."
This is not the first time Ivey has spoken out on this issue. She previously said that the UAW unionization push into Alabama is an attempt to "cash in on the gains of southern workers."
SEE ALSO: Ivey on unionization push in Alabama: 'UAW now wants to cash in on the gains of southern workers'
Ivey summarized the statement in a post on Twitter on Tuesday.
"As governors, we speak up when we see special interests looking to threaten our states' jobs & values," she wrote. "The UAW has come in making big promises they can't keep — we won't stand for that."
The governors said they had "serious reservations that the UAW leadership can represent our values."
"The experience in our states is when employees have a direct relationship with their employers, that makes for a more positive working environment," they stated. "They can advocate for themselves and what is important to them without outside influence. The UAW has come in making big promises to our constituents that they can't deliver on. And we have serious reservations that the UAW leadership can represent our values."
"They proudly call themselves democratic socialists and seem more focused on helping President Biden get reelected than on the autoworker jobs being cut at plants they already represent," the governors wrote. "We want to keep good paying jobs and continue to grow the American auto manufacturing sector here. A successful unionization drive will stop this growth in its tracks, to the detriment of American workers.
Read the full statement from Govs. Kay Ivey, Brian Kemp (Georgia), Tate Reeves (Mississippi), Henry McMaster (South Carolina), Bill Lee (Tennessee) and Greg Abbott (Texas) here.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email Bradley.cox@1819news.com or on Twitter @BradleyCoxAL.
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