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submitted 5 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

United Auto Workers union sees two of German-owned carmaker’s plants as key in effort to unionize industry in southern US

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is setting its sights on its next big union victory in the south, at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama.

Coming off the historic union election win at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 5,200 workers are to begin voting in their union election from 13 May to 17 May. The UAW’s recent win at Volkswagen to represent about 4,300 workers was one of the biggest union election wins in manufacturing in the past 16 years.

“It’s just time for a change,” said Kay Finklea, a quality inspector who has worked at the Mercedes-Benz plant for 23 years.

Finklea said that the pay, benefits, and work hours had stagnated or worsened since she started and the balance between work and life had deteriorated.

They say we’re supposed to work 10 hours a day, but they actually work us 12 hours a day, so by the time you get home, you’re exhausted, beat, and you don’t have time to do anything but get a quick bite, shower and lay down to get ready to wake up and do it all over again,” Finklea added.

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[-] BertramDitore@lemmy.world 25 points 5 months ago

I thought we had laws to prevent companies from union-busting. Apparently Mercedes doesn’t give a shit and is happy to break the law to keep their workers poor and their profits ridiculous. This is infuriating.

“It is a daily barrage of text messages, emails, and there’s an app we have for work for every kind of announcement you can think of and we’re getting two to three notifications daily. Every day before the shift, we have to sit in the team room and watch anti-union videos,” said Webster. “It’s just been a constant barrage. Everybody is just sick and tired of it.”

[-] Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 9 points 5 months ago

Laws protect and they bind. You are bound by them. Business are protected by them.

this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
222 points (99.6% liked)

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