Mercedes isn’t neutral about union
Jeremy Kimbrell
Mercedes-Benz team member
September 14, 2006 - Dear Editor: The recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that Mercedes has broken federal law by partaking in actions intended to discourage employees from engaging in union activities proves that Mercedes has never been neutral about the union, even though every statement of public record says otherwise.
Read the entire Letter To The Editor Here.
Download a printable copy here.
IAM Formal Complaint To The National Labor Relations Board
September 11, 2006 - Formal Complaint from the NLRB Region 10. Download a printable copy here.
Mercedes to appeal labor ruling
September 8, 2006 - Mercedes-Benz officials say they will appeal a federal labor agency’s ruling that supervisors at the Vance assembly plant illegally monitored pro-union employees’ conversations while on the assembly line.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers called the decision handed down Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board a “huge victory" in the group’s ongoing efforts to unionize Mercedes’ only North American plant.
“All along, in just about every newspaper article, Mercedes has talked about how they were neutral and would stay out of [the union issue]," said Don Barker, the machinists union’s organizing representative for the Mercedes plant.
“But obviously with the NLRB agreeing with the charge, they are more involved with the campaign than they’ve led people to believe." Read the article here.
NLRB rules pro-unionists intimidated
Mercedes officials plan to challenge decision
September 6, 2006 - A federal agency that monitors union organizing efforts ruled that supervisors at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance sought to intimidate pro-union workers by monitoring their conversations on the production line.
The National Labor Relations Board in Atlanta sided with officials at the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, which filed a complaint alleging unfair labor practices against the automaker in May.
The automaker said Tuesday it will challenge the decision, which was handed down Thursday. Read the article here.
IAMAW Files Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) At MBUSI
June 6, 2006 - Download a printable copy here.
Mercedes accused of anti-union acts
Pro-union workers' claims of harassment probed
June 6, 2006 - The National Labor Relations Board is investigating claims that supervisors at Mercedes-Benz's Vance plant are harassing employees who favor organizing a union there.
Doug Marshall, who heads the NLRB's Birmingham office, said Monday his office has begun investigating an unfair labor practice charge filed May 25 against the plant and its chief executive, Bill Taylor, by a representative for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
A copy of the charge, provided by Marshall, shows the union claims that plant representatives "interfered with, restrained or coerced employees from exercising their rights" by banning them from entering the plant when reporting to work since April 3, shortly after the organizing campaign began.
"The company claimed they would remain neutral but has not done so," said Don Barker, a San Antonio-based lead organizer for the Machinists. "If they were neutral, why are they allowing anti-union people to talk about it on the job but not pro-union employees?" Read the entire article here.
Mercedes accused of hampering union
June 2, 2006 - A labor union attempting to organize workers at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International is accusing officials at the Vance plant of harassing pro-union employees and interfering with their rights to form a local chapter.In a complaint submitted to the National Labor Relations Board’s Atlanta office Friday, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers charges MBUSI with violating a section of federal law that restricts employers from “interfering with, restraining or coercing employees" in their right to organize a union or bargain collectively with their employer. Read the article here.
What is security?
May 23, 2006 - To most people security starts with gainful employment. We then use our incomes to purchase items such as houses, cars, or toys (boats, four wheelers, RV’s, etc.) to make our lives more comfortable and enjoyable. This adds to the feeling of security. We also know to purchase insurance for these possessions, because the personal costs and hardships resulting from the unexpected loss of these items would be overwhelming. With all our property and possessions insured and a good paying job to pay for them, you may believe you’ve achieved total personal security. Right? Did you insure your job? If you haven’t insured your job, then what you have is false security. At Mercedes we don’t have job insurance (job security). By gaining union representation and a contract we can gain guaranteed pay increases, guaranteed bonuses, and protections from unemployment should slumping demand or a weak economy make this a possibility. Union contracts in the auto industry contain programs which discourage management from laying off workers, but provides these workers with pay and benefits should a temporary layoff become necessary. With a Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) program workers are paid a percentage of their regular income in addition to the state unemployment benefit. Usually, this amount equals 60-70% of normal income. Union contracts can also offer continued insurance benefits, college tuition along with pay, and generous severance packages for either workers nearing retirement age or workers who are ready to leave the company. These programs will also encourage the company to shift production of vehicles currently being produced elsewhere to our facility to keep our large workforce productive. With the facts being that we now have a huge workforce, two of our products are unproven in the market, and the R-Class is showing signs of unpredicted weak sales, we may need these job and income protections sooner than we thought. Currently, all the major Mercedes and Chrysler facilities in the world have unions with job protections in place. All, except one. We are the only plant who has no representation and no protection for its workers.
A union contract won’t make our products sale, but in the event they don’t, it will force the company to remain obligated to us and encourage them to build other products at our facility. By the way, this job insurance (job security) is the most affordable insurance you’ll purchase. You’ll gain this job security for twice our average hourly base pay rate per month. About $52 per month. Doesn’t it make sense to insure the job that provides the income to purchase all the other things that you know to insure? The evidence is clear. We need the job security that we’ll gain with a union contract.
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Download a printable copy here.
Union hopes to organize workers at Mercedes plant
April 30, 2006 - Workers at the $1 billion Mercedes-Benz plant sheltered among the pine trees in this Tuscaloosa County village earn an average of $56,000, not counting overtime.
Jeremy Kimbrell, a 28-year-old who works in the plant's paint department, wants something else - a union to offer employees protection in case of a sales downturn and help them get more of a voice in company decisions.
He is backing a drive by the Maryland-based International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers launched last month.
"The company has all the say in what is done here - employees get no input," said Kimbrell, who has worked in the plant's paint department for six years. "We need someone to speak on our behalf, especially if sales of our new vehicles don't meet expectations."
Read the entire article here.
Organizing Committe Team Members Letter
You make $26 per hour, have good health insurance, and may have worked a lot harder at your last job. Why would you want a union? This question isn’t easily answered at first. But after you’ve settled into the reality of your position, you begin to realize that there’s a reason why the pay and insurance are what they are. It’s how Mercedes helps us justify the sacrifice. Many of us have had more labor intensive jobs, but I doubt most have had a job so demanding.
We all joined Mercedes to better our lives and the lives of our families. But when you joined Mercedes, you agreed to log 9-12 hours per day, 5,6, and 7 days a week, in addition to the long drives to and from work that many of us have. The resulting lack of “Family Time” can put a real strain on family life. Consider the rate of divorce among our friends at work as proof of this. The 2-week shift rotation also keeps our bodies out of balance. The constant readjustment of sleeping patterns makes you irritable and even the weekends are tough to enjoy at times. Taking an early out or scheduling a vacation could help relieve the stress, but for many, early outs are always out, and vacations are too few and far between to provide meaningful relief. The demands of our job also cause us to miss sporting functions and school events that others get to enjoy and take for granted.
For those who have begun to wonder if the sacrifice is worth the reward and think they need a change, the only current option is to find a new job. Several have chosen this option. Should we have to choose between our job and our family? Only with a contract can we gain and retain more flexibility in taking off work to enjoy our families. Only with a contract can we gain and retain a more stable shift rotation, get rules that limit surprise and excessive overtime, and gain more say in how much vacation we’re allowed and when we take it. And the only way to get a contract is to choose union representation. That’s why we want and need a union. And the IAM is the right union to help us achieve these necessities.
Organizing Committee
Team Members
Download A Printable Copy Here (.doc)
Alabama auto union drive
March 27, 2006 - Alabama's automotive industry is characterized by rapid growth, massive investment by foreign automakers and the absence of organized labor.
No employees at the seven vehicle assembly and engine plants that are the foundation of the state's auto industry are represented by a union. Workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County, Ala., hope to become the first to organize in union-wary Alabama.
"We want a union, and one of us has got to go first to give the rest of these boys an opportunity. Somebody's got to get these dominoes falling," said Bobby Ray Thomas, a 49-year-old inspector who has worked at the Mercedes-Benz plant since production began in 1997.
An effort began three weeks ago to organize 3,000 production and maintenance workers at the plant, where employees assemble M Class, R Class and GL Class sport utility vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz workers said cuts in health benefits for retirees, forced overtime, treatment of temporary workers and absence of seniority rights convinced them to push for union representation.
They aren't seeking better wages. Production workers at top scale earn $26.44 an hour, Mr. Thomas said, and maintenance workers at top scale earn nearly $30 an hour.
"It's about having a voice," said George Jones, a 38-year-old who inspects raw materials at the Mercedes-Benz plant.
Read the entire Washington Times article here.
Organizing Drive Gears Up at Alabama Mercedes Plant
March 16, 2006 - Fair wages, a voice at work and decent benefits are the foundations for a good job anywhere in the United States. Increasingly, however, these benefits are only available to union members with access to collective bargaining rights.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, nearly 3,000 workers at a state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz facility are looking forward to joining those ranks as an IAM organizing campaign there gathers steam.
Roadside billboards, television ads and a website showing IAM members as solid citizens are early highlights of the campaign, aimed at securing the support of the community as well as informing workers about their legal right to organize.
“We’re letting people know the right to organize and form a union is protected by federal law,” said GLR Don Barker, who is coordinating the IAM drive at Mercedes-Benz.
“There’s a long history of unions helping to bring good wages, benefits and health care to Alabama workers, and we intend to continue that tradition.”
One of the few unions to be founded in the South, the IAM currently represents more than 7,500 workers across Alabama in jobs ranging from aircraft mechanics at Pemco in Dothan, Alabama to rocket builders at Boeing in Huntsville and Decatur, Alabama.
“We want the men and women at Mercedes-Benz to know that we’re proud to be a part of this community, this state and this country,” said Barker.
“There are IAM members in all 50 states and we’re looking forward to giving workers in Tuscaloosa the same rights and opportunities enjoyed by IAM members everywhere.”
