New UAW Local, Same Old Union

After failing to secure recognition in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union is now targeting roughly 3,500 hardworking employees at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  The UAW opened Local #112 near Tuscaloosa as their most recent ploy towards tricking southern workers to submit to unionization.

Foreign-owned car makers such as Mercedes-Benz set up shop in the South to escape the thirsty eyes of the UAW.  After years of failed attacks, newly elected UAW boss Dennis Williams is trying out a new plan to catch these companies – local organizations and clubs.

Like Local #42 in Chattanooga, the UAW is painting Local #112 in Tuscaloosa to appear as a friendly “organization” or community “club” instead of a labor union.  Plant workers should not fall for this trap.     

Why is this trap so dangerous?  Two options are used to gain union recognition in the United States.  Either 1) an official secret ballot election is held by the NLRB or, 2) if a union produces more than 50 percent of card check signatures, employers can bypass the formal vote and acknowledge the union.  The danger is that the UAW would use Local #112 agreements in place of worker cards in order to fake higher approval.  After losing the vote at Volkswagen in Chattanooga on February 14, 2014, the UAW wants to sneak into Tuscaloosa and Local #112 is the unlocked door.

Tuscaloosa plant spokeswoman Felycia Jerald reiterated the company’s promise to remain neutral on the issue; "As for the announced formation of a local UAW chapter, this does not change our position on neutrality or how our teams work together within our organization.”

Though the Mercedes plant in Alabama has remained union free for nearly 20 years, management should push in opposition to the UAW if they want to protect Tuscaloosa from devastating cost increases and job loss. 

Since 1979, the UAW has experienced a more than 74 percent decrease in membership.  Auburn University Montgomery economist Keivan Deravi explained that UAW efforts to organize the South are more about self-preservation and less about improving worker conditions.

"A lot of those plants up North can close shop, come down here and never worry about the UAW again, so to me this is more about salvaging the UAW. It's more about the survival of the workers' union than the workers, themselves.”

Mercedes plant workers should not trust the UAW’s promise of higher wages, safer work environments, and a louder voice.  Workers feeling enticed to join to the Local #112 should act with caution.  Though Local #112 may seem harmless, workers could one day wake up paying union dues or receiving unemployment.