Back in the U.S., over 5,000 workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama are voting this week on whether to join the United Auto Workers union. Workers say Mercedes has repeatedly engaged in union busting, and Republican leaders, including Governor Kay Ivey, have also tried to stymie their efforts. But UAW says it believes workers will prevail, as it hopes to see its second major victory in the South since Volkswagen employees in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted overwhelmingly last month to join the union.
Last night, employees of a Hyundai plant in Alabama joined Rev. William Barber’s Moral Monday mass in Montgomery to push their own union campaign.
Hyundai worker: “We give our all to the company, but we have no pension, no retirement, no healthcare. This is just wrong. And we’re going to try to make things right when we win our union.”