UAW Aims to Open Door to South at Mercedes in Alabama

George Jones doesn’t impress you as a stereotypical militant union organizer, but he is on a mission to win UAW representation at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Vance, AL.

If he’s successful, the plant 23 miles (37 km) east of Tuscaloosa could become the first foreign-owned light-vehicle assembly facility in the Southern U.S., home to 14 transplant operations.

So far the UAW’s efforts to crack the South have failed, but it’s possible Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, TN, plant also could become the first to come under the UAW’s aegis. Local 42 lost an election there, 712-626 (53% against) in February 2014 despite tacit endorsement by the company. In December, however, the union and management agreed to meet to air concerns in what could be a prelude to another vote.

Mercedes employs 2,200 regular workers and 1,200 temps in Vance, where it currently builds four vehicles. The GLE Coupe-CUV will be added next year.

Jones, 47, became an early hire 17 years ago as Mercedes was gearing up to build its first vehicles in Vance. He previously worked in a foundry laboratory in Marion, AL, and was a member of the United Steel Workers Union. Family members also have been UAW members, he says.

Jones has spent his entire Mercedes career in the Vance plant’s quality operations. He recently won election, uncontested, as president of UAW Local 112, which was formed in October. He doesn’t reveal how many workers already have joined the union, but it’s estimated to be in the low hundreds.

Local 112 reportedly has support from IG Metall, the German union represented at parent Daimler-Benz facilities, and the Daimler World Employee Committee. Daimler-Benz in 2002 acknowledged workers have a right to form trade unions and it respects the right to collective bargaining.

Indeed, Vance is the only Daimler facility worldwide that lacks union representation, Jones says. ”We’re the only ones on this little island,” he says. “Tuscaloosa (Vance) is a cash cow. All we’re asking for is fairness. Management has total control. It’s all about power.”

The UAW’s effort at Vance gained impetus in November when the National Labor Relations Board determined Mercedes violated federal law because its handbook prohibited employees from discussing union membership.

The ruling allows the UAW to solicit members in work areas but not during working hours. Because Mercedes has appealed the ruling, “we can’t pass out leaflets in the atrium (a non-work area) until that’s decided,” Jones says, adding Local 112 still campaigns for members elsewhere.

Jones says his primary goal is to provide the union with a voice in policies covering job classifications, staffing and perks such as pensions and health care.

“If you have a good union, it’s not going to hurt anyone. We can grow together,” he says. “The company provides for me and my family. So why would I want to hurt it?”

Workers such as Jones with at least five years on the job earn $29 per hour, but temps earn half that, have no benefits and no guarantee they ever will become regular employees, which he says is not fair.

“They work as hard as I do, but they then they don’t get hired” as full-fledged employees, he says.

Mercedes has no company pension plan, although it contributes to employee 401(k) plans. “A 401(k) is like going to the casino. There’s a lot of risk involved (because the plans rely on financial markets). Look what happened in 2007-2009.”

Health and life insurance coverage also stops when employees retire or otherwise depart, he says. This clearly would become a major topic of negotiations if the union wins representation.

Despite the NLRB ruling, Jones concedes “it’s going to take time” for Local 112 to unionize Mercedes at Vance. “We’re working on it,” he says. “We have no set time, but we’re trying to reach as many people as we can.

“Why are we fighting? Because right now they have full control.”

Also notable: Mercedes recently announced it will invest $500 million in Charleston, SC, to build Sprinter vans, with employment set at 1,300. If Jones wins in Vance, could Charleston be far behind?

The UAW has represented workers at Freightliner facilities in North Carolina since 2003, but the heavy-truck manufacturer at the time was owned by DaimlerChrysler and not solely by a foreign company.