For those not following, the linked article above gives the skinny on what went down with the vote. Bottom line: the workers at the two Vance, AL Mercedes-Benz plants (near Tuscaloosa) gave a hard pass to the UAW, and the vote wasn't even close. 

Someone at the @UAW seems to have misread the room. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8gaxa1TbLT

— LaborUnionNews.com (@WorkPlaceRpt) May 17, 2024

As mentioned in the comment, UAW's tactics were indeed scummy. UAW President Shawn Fain knew what he was doing when he chose to use the words of former University of Alabama coach Nick Saban in their ads, without Saban's permission. Anyone who knows anybody in Alabama knows that our college teams are the sun and the moon. 

University of Alabama, Auburn, University of North Alabama, and their coaches and players hold great sway over Alabamians' hearts and minds, and Saban knew this. This is why, the Sunday before the vote, Saban asked UAW to take down the ad and stop using his words and image. 

"I recently learned the United Autoworkers (UAW) union has taken the liberty of featuring my comments in advertisements released as part of its campaign to organize workers at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI)," Saban said in a statement on Sunday. "Not only were these comments taken entirely out of context, they were also being used without my knowledge or permission. I do not personally endorse the UAW or its campaign and have asked the UAW to remove any advertisements featuring me from circulation."

He added, "I encourage all Team Members to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming election."

Fain also used the logos of Bama and Auburn in their advertising. These rival teams took the unprecedented step of issuing a joint statement to claim trademark infringement and told UAW they must cease and desist.

"The United Auto Workers are currently infringing on the intellectual property rights of The University of Alabama and Auburn University by using our trademarks without our endorsement or permission," the joint statement read.

 As the commenter concluded, "You don't mess with our football teams or the GOAT [Nick Saban]."

Indeed. 

But Alabamians are also freedom-loving folk, and that includes how they choose to work. After going through the hellscape of California's AB5 destroying innovation and the ability to work as one chooses, it is a breath of fresh air to see all the different types of small businesses, solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, independent contracting, and gig opportunities thriving here. 

There is also much flexibility in traditional work as well, as many employees have no problem negotiating better pay or hours with their employer, and if an agreement is not reached, the employee can move on to something better. Contrary to what may be happening in other states, Alabama employers are begging for reliable and quality workers, so the opportunities in this right-to-work state are present and available. 

One Wall Street Journal (WSJ) opinion article pointed out that employees will take their chances on a direct relationship with their employer over the union corruption that has been embedded for decades. 

Some workers had expressed distrust of the UAW, citing a corruption scandal last decade in which more than a dozen union officials were convicted of crimes, including two past presidents.

Melissa Howell, who has worked at the Mercedes plant for 19 years, voted against the UAW. She noted the history of corruption, and said she wasn’t convinced that unionizing is the best way to effect changes she would like to see, including work-schedule adjustments.

She also has been impressed by Federico Kochlowski, the new chief executive for Mercedes’ U.S. business, who was installed last month after serving as an operations executive. He has been making the rounds on the factory floor, chatting with workers about their families and their work gripes, Howell said. 

“We have the company’s ear, for the first time in a long time,” Howell said. “If our management doesn’t get it right, we can vote the union in a year from now.”

Then there is that problem of union dues being used for things that have little to do with union members and their concerns.

Another longtime worker, James White, said he doesn’t like the idea of paying dues to the UAW because he is unsure how the money will be spent. 

“The union is a political entity. I don’t want my money going to certain causes or politicians that I don’t support,” he said.

As another WSJ piece outlined.

Still, it’s apparent that many workers aren’t interested in what the union is selling, which is less about job security than progressive priorities that extend well past the workplace. Mr. Fain presents himself as the vanguard of left-wing politics, as when he denounced Israel’s effort to destroy Hamas in Gaza. The UAW “has been calling for a ceasefire for six months,” he said recently. Why should line workers in Tuscaloosa pay dues for that?

Why should they? Because Fain and his cadre of overpaid union bosses want to keep getting their fat paychecks. According to the Autoline Network podcast (pulling from U.S. Department of Labor/UAW sources), in 2022, Fain made over 347,000 annually because he was pulling in two salaries: one as the treasurer of the Chrysler UAW Training Center and as an administrative assistant. Fain was elected as president in 2023, and Fain's salary is now around 267,000 annually. There is no clear indication from the UAW that Fain is not still pulling in that treasurer's salary. 

WATCH:

But keep on gaslighting about those automaker CEOs and their profits.

BMW raked in a staggering $50 billion in profits since 2021. Worker wage increases during that time? Just 3%.

BMW workers deserve better. It's time for BMW to do better. #StandUpUAW #RecordProfitsRecordContract pic.twitter.com/PdEd5wsh7U

— UAW (@UAW) May 20, 2024

Fain and his ilk are only interested in keeping their rein on power, and employees choosing their individualism and right-to-work over union membership gets in the way. This is why the National Labor Relations Board and Big Labor are now using Cemex to circumvent all that; basically nullifying the will of the workers.

Although the union appears to have lost the majority of workers’ votes, the UAW can still end up representing Mercedes-Benz workers by arguing for a Cemex bargaining order.

Under the NLRB’s new Cemex standard, the NLRB can order Mercedes-Benz to bargain with the UAW—despite a majority of workers voting against union representation—if the NLRB finds that Mercedes-Benz violated the law.

As the UAW has filed numerous unfair labor practices against Mercedes in the runup to the election, the UAW can now try to use those charges to obtain a “Cemex bargaining order,” despite the majority of Mercedes’ employees rejecting the UAW.

Which is simply another version of a card check, without calling it that. Unions have been losing labor market share in significant numbers since the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision allowed employees to opt out of union membership. For public sector unions, only 32 percent of workers are unionized, down from 33 percent in 2022. As the WSJ article surmised, "Such annual changes might look small, but that’s how erosion works, a little at a time." 

If Mercedes-Benz and other right-to-work automakers hold the line against the UAW, that erosion could become a landslide.

As I love to say, Ma tha Siobhan*.

*If God is Merciful.