Mercedes Works Council Chairman: American colleagues must vote in favor of the union

DrMercedes-Benz Works Council Chairman Erjon Lomally called on his colleagues at the American plant in Tuscaloosa (Alabama) to vote in favor of unionizing through the United Auto Workers (UAW). “We are faced with a historic decision and our position is as clear as it is unequivocal: We encourage our colleagues in Tuscaloosa to make history by exercising their right to vote and voting to form a union,” said LeMalley, who is also the union's president. The Group's global employee representative body is WELT AM SONNTAG.

Voting on union representation at the Mercedes plant begins on May 13. In a similar vote in April, employees at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the UAW.

In previous years, the union lost such votes, also because employers spoke out against it publicly. “We are closely monitoring UAW activities and company conduct in Tuscaloosa,” Lomali said. Following the successful elections of the United Workers Union, Tuscaloosa will become a “full member of the International Workers Council.”