The United Automobile Workers (UAW) faced a setback in their campaign to expand the union’s presence in the South after U.S. workers at Mercedes-Benz factories in Alabama rejected the UAW in a vote. The UAW is now expected to target other automakers, including Hyundai Motors, to join the union to restore its standing.
Approximately 4,000 workers at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) plant are set to vote on whether to join the UAW as early as next month. Hyundai Motor has been union-free since it opened a manufacturing plant in the U.S. in 2005.
Mercedes workers voted 56% to 44% against joining the union, according to the National Labor Relations Board on May 18. “While this loss stings, we’ll keep our heads up,” UAW President Shawn Fain said following the loss at Mercedes. “We move forward, and that’s what we intend to do,” he added.
Some industry insiders speculate that the union’s next step could mean more pressure on Hyundai. The UAW had previously mentioned unionizing progress at a Hyundai plant in Alabama.
The UAW organized a rally at a church in Alabama on May 13. to encourage Hyundai factory workers to join the union. Several Hyundai employees who attended the rally claimed they needed to join the UAW, citing harsh conditions such as limited restroom breaks and working in high temperatures during the summer.
“Since the unionization effort at Mercedes was thwarted, the UAW needs new momentum to expand its influence,” said an auto industry insider. “If Hyundai joins the UAW, it will be symbolic as the first Asian automaker to unionize in the U.S.”
U.S. President Joe Biden supported the UAW’s strike action against the big three automakers last year in a bid to win the union’s endorsement in his re-election campaign. The UAW has also been pressuring companies, including filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) late last year alleging that three companies, including Hyundai Motor America (HMA), were undermining union formation.
Hyundai has been expanding rapidly in North America by boosting productivity at its Alabama plant. Hyundai’s Alabama plant was the most productive in North America, taking 24.02 hours to make one vehicle, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman’s 2022 automotive plant productivity assessment. Globally, Hyundai’s Alabama plant ranked second behind Peugeot Citroen’s (PSA) Sochaux plant in France, which took 21.93 hours to produce one vehicle.
The Rust Belt, including Detroit, home to the “Big Three” automakers - General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis - is a politically diverse region with strong union traditions. But the Sun Belt in the South, where Hyundai and other foreign automakers operate factories, tends to lean Republican and traditionally harbors a negative perception of unions.
