Alabama

UAW Hopes To Expand Its Ranks As Alabama Mercedes-Benz Workers Vote On Union Membership

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2024

UAW Hopes To Expand Its Ranks As Alabama Mercedes-Benz Workers Vote On Union Membership

Workers at two Alabama Mercedes-Benz plants rallying with UAW President Shawn Fain ahead of a vote … [+] on whether to join the union.

United Auto Workers

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.

STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN – JULY 12, 2023: UAW President Shawn Fain is hoping success in winning … [+] big gains for workers at the Detroit Three automakers in the last contract talks will translate into winning new members at U.S. non-union auto plants. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

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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.

Prof. David Jacobs, a labor expert at the American University’s Kogod School of Business.

American University

“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.”

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Alabama

Where to watch Texas vs. Alabama today: College basketball free stream

Published

3 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Texas vs. Alabama today: College basketball free stream

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The No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide host the Texas Longhorns Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The Crimson Tide have four losses this season, all have come against teams ranked inside the top 11.

Texas vs. Alabama will air on ESPN, and streams live on DIRECTV (free trial).

What: Men’s college basketball regular season

Who: Texas Longhorns vs. No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide

When: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial)

Texas is 3-4 in its past seven games, and doesn’t have a win over any currently ranked teams. A road win over Alabama would help its cause in the national ranking and the SEC standings. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team this season, and a second straight would hurt their hopes for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a recent college basketball story via the Associated Press:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored 23 of his career-high 29 points in the second half and No. 11 Vanderbilt remained undefeated by beating 13th-ranked Alabama 96-90 on Wednesday night.

The Commodores (15-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) extended their best start since winning 16 straight games to open the 2007-08 season. This is only the second time in the program’s 124-year history that Vanderbilt has won its first 15.

Vanderbilt hadn’t played a ranked opponent until this game, also the first here between two top-15 teams since Jan. 5, 1974. Then-No. 10 Vanderbilt beat the 14th-ranked Crimson Tide in that game on its way to splitting the SEC championship with Alabama.

Vanderbilt also beat Alabama for the first time at Memorial Gym since 2018, ending a five-game skid against the Tide.

Duke Miles had 19 points and five steals before fouling out, and four other Commodores finished with at least four fouls. Tyler Nickel scored 12 points while Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke, who also fouled out, each had 10.

Tanner, a sophomore guard, added seven assists and four steals. He was 12 of 15 at the free-throw line — all in the second half.

Alabama (11-4, 1-1) had its four-game winning streak snapped in a game featuring 63 combined fouls, with two technicals on the Crimson Tide.

Amari Allen led Alabama with a season-high 25 points. Leading scorer Labaron Philon Jr. added 18 but checked out with 16:06 to go and never returned. Aden Holloway had 22 points and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 13.

Fouls called left and right turned the first 10 minutes of the second half into ugly ball, and Alabama never led by more than four. Allen hit two free throws that pulled the Tide to 59-58 with 12:14 left.

Vanderbilt went on a 16-4 spurt that included a technical foul on Alabama coach Nate Oats with 8:39 to go. Tanner hit both free throws off the technical, then Mike James knocked down a 3-pointer for a 74-63 lead. The Tide made it interesting but got no closer than 94-90.

Up next

Alabama hosts Texas on Saturday.

Vanderbilt hosts LSU on Saturday.

Can I bet on the game?

Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.

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Alabama

Texas vs. Alabama Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 10

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Texas vs. Alabama Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 10

The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off a tough loss to Vanderbilt, but at 11-4 overall, they’re still in a great spot this season. On Saturday, they’ll host the Texas Longhorns, who are still seeking their first SEC win of the 2025-26 college basketball campaign.

Texas lost to Mississippi State in overtime and then lost by 14 points to Tennessee this past week. The oddsmakers now have them set as significant underdogs in this game, meaning a 0-3 start in conference play is likely. Let’s dive into it.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

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Moneyline

Total

Dailyn Swain is leading Texas in points (15.6), rebounds (7.1), assists (3.5), and steals (1.8) per game. You’d be hard-pressed to find another team in college basketball where the same player leads the team in all four of those statistics. Alabama will have to shut him down to win and cover in this game.

The key factor in any Alabama game is how its opponent defends the perimeter. The Crimson Tide is primarily a three-point shooting team, which means the ability for their opponent to defend the three-ball plays a big role in how the game turns out.

Unfortunately, the Longhorns rank 223rd in the country in opponent three-point field goal percentage. They allow teams to shoot 34.4% from beyond the arc, which means Alabama, especially with the Crimson Tide being on their home court, has a chance to shoot the lights out on Saturday.

I’m going to lay the points on Alabama as a big favorite.

Pick: Alabama -13.5 (-110) via FanDuel

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain’s bets here!

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Alabama

How an Alabama moonshiner’s whiskey became the official state drink – and stayed that way

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

How an Alabama moonshiner’s whiskey became the official state drink – and stayed that way

Named after a famous 1940s Bullock County moonshiner who eventually served an 18-month federal prison sentence at Maxwell Air Force Base for producing illegal liquor, the Clyde May’s whiskey company was founded in Union Springs in 2001 by the bootlegger’s son, Kenny May.

Though the whiskey it produced was actually distilled in Kentucky, it was supposedly made using Conecuh Ridge spring water that was trucked there from Alabama.

In 2004, the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a resolution naming the company’s “Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey” as the “Official State Spirit” of Alabama.

Gov. Bob Riley, a teetotaler who did not think the state should have an “official whiskey,” vetoed the resolution, but Democrat lawmakers quickly overrode his veto and allowed the resolution to take effect.

Shortly thereafter, in December of 2004, state liquor agents arrested Kenny May for selling liquor without a license, possessing excessive quantities of liquor in a dry county, and selling alcohol to a minor. He pled guilty to the charges.

Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board immediately moved to revoke Conecuh Ridge’s distribution license, meaning that once stores sold out of their existing stock, the state’s official spirit could no longer be sold in Alabama.

May’s stock was held in trust pending the outcome of his trial. Attorney Alva Lambert assumed interim leadership of the company.

After May entered his guilty plea, the Alabama House of Representatives moved to repeal the declaration of Conecuh Ridge as Alabama’s “Official State Spirit,” but the reversal legislation never passed the Alabama Senate. It remains the “Official State Spirit” today.
Kenny May passed away in 2016.

Owned and operated by a company based in New York today, Clyde May’s whiskey and bourbon is sold nationwide.
It’s flagship bottle is marketed as “Alabama-style” whiskey, and dried apples are added to the liquor as it ages in barrels, which imparts an apple/cinnamon flavor to the finished product.

Some like it, and some hate it, but all can agree the whiskey carries a fascinating political pedigree.

This story originally appeared in The Art of Alabama Politics, an outlet dedicated to the the wild, weird, and wonderful history of Alabama politics.

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