Uaw's mixed results: Tennessee win, Alabama setback
Uncertainty about the future of the automotive industry in the U.S. is causing more and more employees to consider joining organizations that protect their interests. However, this is not always successful everywhere.
United Auto Workers is the largest union in the U.S. representing automotive industry workers. Many factories in the U.S. have the vast majority of employees belong to the UAW. One of the latest examples is the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, which was unionized after a recent vote.
Encouraged by their success in Tennessee, the UAW conducted a pro-union campaign at the Mercedes plant in Alabama. Despite a large turnout, they did not achieve victory.
56% of employees eligible to vote refused to join the United Auto Workers union. Despite this, the result should be considered a success. Peter Bible, who participated in the negotiations with employees, announced that the UAW would make further attempts to unionize the Mercedes plant and reminded them that Volkswagen failed on the first try.
UAW representatives see the reasons for the defeat in a wide-ranging anti-union campaign. However, they hope that employees in Alabama will change their minds.
The UAW has repeatedly proven its strength in crises concerning mass layoffs or wage negotiations, supporting its members in the fight against not-always-fair employers.
