Mercedes workers at an Alabama plant call for union representation vote

NEW YORK (AP) — A majority of workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are calling for a vote to join the United Auto Workers union, which is on a drive to sign up non-union plants across the country. According to the UAW, the Mercedes workers have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for the vote. Their call for a union election arrives just weeks after workers at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, set a date to vote for UAW representation. The Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama, had a total of about 6,100 employees as of the end of 2023. More than 5,000 are calling for the union vote, UAW says. In response to the petition, Mercedes said that it respects its workers’ rights to choose whether to unionize.