Alabama
UAW Hopes To Expand Its Ranks As Alabama Mercedes-Benz Workers Vote On Union Membership
More than 5,000 workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama begin voting Monday on whether or not to join the United Auto Workers. The vote, which ends Friday morning, comes less than a month after workers at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW, ending the union’s decades-long push to organize workers at U.S.-based, foreign-owned plants..
Robert Johnston, a worker at the Mercedes-Benz battery plant in Woodstock, Alabama, has no doubt his co-workers there, and at the much larger assembly plant in Vance, will prove the UAW’s win in Tennessee wasn’t a one-off victory.
“I mean, hands down. I think we’re gonna win. We’re gonna win. Hopefully by a lot,” Johnston says in an interview. “It seems like it’s gonna be a slam dunk just like Volkswagen. Everybody’s excited.”
Austin Brooks is also excited. A two-year employee at the Woodstock plant, he’s looking forward to joining the UAW to get him through some tough medical challenges.
“I’m always in a medical hospital. I’m always sick. I need better health care. Plus, when I retire I’m not going to have any insurance until Medicare kicks in,” Brooks says in an interview.
About 5,200 workers are eligible to cast their ballots from Monday to Friday morning 10:45 a.m. eastern time, according to the National Labor Relations Board which is administering the vote.
UAW President Shawn Fain’s confidence in organizing non-union auto workers accelerated after winning major raises and improved benefits for members at the Detroit Three automakers last fall. He led bruising negotiations that included a series of strikes against all three over the course of 46 days.
In announcing the settlements, Fain vowed that in the next round of contract talks in 2028, UAW would expand beyond General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis to include the foreign, and domestic companies with non-union workers building vehicles in the U.S.
But even if the UAW chalks up a second straight victory at the Mercedes-Benz plants, that doesn’t necessarily portend that Fain will march across the South like Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman notching up one victory after another without suffering at least a few defeats.
“It’s a little bit hard for me to imagine they’re being successful across the board because they’re different companies and there are different levels of union support or hostility elsewhere in the corporate structure,” observes professor David Jacobs at the American University’s Kogod School of Business in an interview. “The South has been a very difficult nut to crack. It’s been the center of an alternative economy. It’s a low-wage economy, low-regulation economy, the southern political economy. I call it the Neo- Confederate infrastructure.”
Indeed just ahead of the vote at Volkswagen, six southern governors, including Alabama’s, signed a letter opposing UAW representation of workers in the region, alleging a vote to do so would threaten jobs in those states.
That’s just one instance of outside pressure workers are feeling to vote no.
Johnston and Brooks say they’re certainly aware of that pressure but predict it will have no effect on the outcome.
“Everybody wants to make it a political issue, and this is not a political issue,” says Johnston. “The UAW didn’t come to us, we went to them. It has to do with the workers fighting back, demanding our rights and, you know, collectively, together. We know we can bargain for better working conditions, better wages, better benefits.”
“People are trying to come in, but what I can say is at the end of the day they ain’t gonna have no control over when we vote yes,” adds Brooks.
While workers like Johnston and Brooks seem confident of a positive vote to join the UAW, a white paper released last week by the Center for Automotive Research titled, “UAW’s Next Frontier: Mercedes-Benz in Alabama,” looks at the effects of both possible results.
“A victory of the UAW would send a message to all automakers that the U.S. automotive blue-collar workers are seeking not just a fair wage but also a better work-life balance, as many white-collar workers in the industry take for granted. A victory for the company would signal that workers value the work culture, employer-employee relationship and already enjoy what unionization might,” said the report written by Yen Chen, principal economist at the Center for Automotive Research and Marick Masters professor of business at Wayne State University.
Indeed, the paper predicts no matter the results they will have a “persistent effect on both the UAW and Mercedes-Benz but also have broader implications for the U.S. automotive industry.”
Alabama
Oklahoma DC Zac Alley Alabama Postgame
Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors.
Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield
Alabama
Alabama Football at Oklahoma Injury Updates
NORMAN, Okla.–– The Alabama football team stayed relatively healthy in last week’s game against Mercer after suffering a few season-ending injuries in the weeks before with guys like Cole Adams and Que Robinson.
Adams, Robinson and defensive back on Keon Sabb are the only three Crimson Tide players who have showed up on the official SEC availability report this week as Alabama prepares to face Oklahoma on Saturday night. However, the Sooners have a long list of players on the report
Follow along for injury updates throughout Saturday’s game between the Crimson Tide and Sooners.
In-game injury updates
First Quarter
- 11:30- Overton is back on the field for Alabama’s second defensive series.
- 14:30- Alabama defensive tackle LT Overton goes down on the first drive of the game. He is brielfy looked at by medical staff, but is able to walk off the field on his own. However, he headed straight for the injury tent.
Pregame
Alabama Final Availability Report
- Keon Sabb, DB – Out
- Cole Adams, WR – Out
- Que Robinson, LB – Out
Oklahoma Final Availability Report
- Jayden Gibson, WR – Out
- Jalil Farooq, WR- Out
- Nic Anderson, WR – Out
- Andrel Anthony, WR – Out
- Gentry Williams, DB – Out
- Kendel Dolby, DB – Out
- Geirean Hatchett, OL – Out
- Jacob Sexton, OL – Out
- Jake Taylor, OL – Out
- Deion Burks, WR – Out
- Jovantae Barnes, RB – Game-time decision
- Joshua Bates, OL – Out
Read more: What Happened to the Players who Transferred From Alabama Last Year?
Why One Alabama Assistant Has Been Losing Sleep this Week
Where Alabama Football Ranks in the College Football Playoff Poll
Alabama
Oklahoma-Alabama GameDay Preview: Under the Radar
These can feel like grasping at straws sometimes, but in this case, I really think Jacob Jordan can be the difference for the OU passing game. Deion Burks probably isn’t going to play. Jalil Farooq has already been downgraded to questionable after he gave it a try two weeks ago at Mizzou. The return of those two players — for better or worse — did almost nothing for the offense in Columbia. Meanwhile, as the coaching staff inserted their stars back into the lineup, it came at the expense of Jordan, the true freshman walk-on who had blossomed in a three-week stretch, catching six passes for 86 yards against South Carolina, six for 38 and a touchdown at Ole Miss and three for 36 against Maine. At Mizzou? Jordan got to play one snap and was relegated to the end of the bench. OU defenders say he’s a frustrating player to cover because he runs such precise routes and catches almost everything. Also, when Jackson Arnold was benched and running the scout team, he developed some chemistry with Jordan. The Sooner staff would be wise to utilize him against the Crimson Tide.
— John E. Hoover
Alright, a Butkus Award semifinalist and the heartbeat of Oklahoma’s football team is probably too high-profile to qualify as “under the radar,” but it’s Senior Night and I’m going to bend the rules. Stutsman was everywhere against Missouri, totaling 19 tackles and preventing the Tigers from having much of a rushing attack at all. He’s going to say all the right things, but Stutsman’s final game on Owen Field means a great deal to him and his family, and I expect we’ll see another fantastic outing from the talismanic linebacker. And Oklahoma will need it. Jalen Milroe’s ability on the ground makes Alabama’s entire offensive operation go. The teams that have had success bottling him up, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, were able to upend the Crimson Tide. Any path to a shock OU victory runs through a night to remember for Stutsman — something he’s completely capable of on Saturday.
— Ryan Chapman
Even though Saturday marks Senior Day in Norman, the Sooners will be leaning heavily on a true freshman against the Crimson Tide. Coming off a career-high 56 yards on nine carries against Missouri, running back Xavier Robinson said he’s burning his redshirt seems to be in line for an increased share of the team’s carries this week when Alabama comes to town. If the Oklahoma City product has another strong performance, it could be enough to spark Oklahoma’s offense and keep the Sooners in contention against a formidable opponent who has been able to light up the scoreboard this season.
— Randall Sweet
The Sooners will need explosive plays to have a chance to take down Alabama. With receiver Deion Burks injured and sidelined again, the speedy Brenen Thompson might be OU’s best chance at a big play. Thompson has reached the end zone twice this season, and the last time was a 54-yard touchdown connection with Jackson Arnold, proving what Thompson is capable of if he and Arnold get the time they need. Alabama might also overlook the 5-foot-9 receiver and focus on a bigger threat like Jalil Farooq, possibly freeing Thompson, if even for one big play.
— Dekota Gregory
Oklahoma’s wide receiver room has been a hot topic of conversation all season long. The Sooners have been banged up and the passing game has been extremely quiet. Whether it’s the quarterback spot, the offensive line, or the short handed receiver group, it’s been an all-around failure. Jalil Farooq has been injured for most of the season, but returned to the lineup against Missouri two weeks ago. He was expected to have a breakout campaign, but injuries have hampered his time on the field. Farooq looked rusty in his first week back, and it looked like he might not fully trust his foot yet. With a bye week in the past, this is the time for Farooq to make a difference, though. Oklahoma will desperately need him with no other starting receivers healthy, and could force feed him early and often.
— Ross Lovelace
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