Transportation
Mercedes US Executive Warned Against Unionizing at Mandatory Meeting, UAW Says
- Labor group seeks to organize foreign automakers’ workforces
- Automaker says unionization decision is up to the workers
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A high-ranking Mercedes-Benz Group AG executive held a mandatory anti-union meeting this week for the workforce of an Alabama plant the United Auto Workers is trying to organize, the union said.
Michael Göbel, who oversees production in North America and is chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., addressed employees Thursday at the company’s factory in Vance, Alabama. Göbel suggested that unionization would mean work stoppages, costly dues, and obstacles to conflict resolution, according to an audio recording reviewed by Bloomberg News. “I don’t believe the UAW can help us to be better,” Göbel said.