Workers at the International Motors/Navistar powertrain manufacturing plant in Huntsville have officially voted against forming a union, marking another failed effort by United Auto Workers, UAW, to organize labor in Alabama.
Two hundred sixteen out of 228 eligible workers cast ballots in last Thursday’s election at Navistar Big Bore Diesels in Huntsville, with 142 of those ballots cast in opposition to forming a union.
The UAW released an official statement in the wake of the failed election, blaming organized business interests and International/Navistar management for illegally intimidating workers into voting against unionization.
“Once again, the statewide political and business elites have closed ranks to protect their power and privilege, stacking the deck against Alabama workers. The statewide business lobby and their allies in government poured tens of thousands of dollars into commercials, digital ads, and union-busting consultants who charge thousands of dollars per day to coerce workers and sow fear at International Motors Huntsville,” the union stated.
“When workers at this facility started organizing their union, over 60 percent of workers signed cards saying they wanted to form a union with their coworkers. Navistar management then violated the neutrality agreement in its contract with other UAW-represented employees and unleashed its aggressive, illegal union busting campaign.”
The UAW also attributed the loss in-part to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB.
“The workers put up a brave fight in the face of illegal intimidation tactics and coercion, but ultimately it was not enough to overcome a defunded, understaffed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and a system that overwhelmingly favors the employer at the expense of workers,” the union wrote.
In its statement, the UAW further detailed how it believes International Motors worked to actively discourage unionization in Huntsville, alleging that the company even reinstated a previously revoked health insurance plan as a way to convince workers to vote against unionizing.
“International Motors is a wholly owned subsidiary of Traton Group, a German company whose official policy is to remain neutral if workers decide they want to unionize,” the UAW stated. “Instead of following its own policy, the company CEO descended on the plant for the first time in years to campaign against workers unionizing. Then, ten days before the vote, as momentum built for the union, management tried to buy back support by reinstating a health insurance plan they had taken away last year. Now that the election is over, nothing stops them from ripping it away again. That’s exactly why workers need a union: without a contract, there’s no guarantee—only empty promises.”
“While the workers and the UAW followed the neutrality policy and the letter of the law, International Motors and Alabama’s anti-worker corporate special interest groups stopped at nothing to prevent workers from using their power to improve their lives,” the union added.
Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, employers cannot “interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights.” Nor may employers respond to a unionization effort by “threatening, interrogating, or spying on pro-union employees, or by promising benefits if they forget about the union.”
The UAW stated that it will now be filing “multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges” and making “full use of the grievance procedure” with the NLRB in response to the allegations of illegal union-busting and intimidation at the Navistar plant.
The North Alabama Area Labor Council—which had previously encouraged Navistar auto workers to vote in favor of unionization—also slammed the company’s anti-union efforts in a statement to APR Monday.
“North Alabama’s unions echo the UAW’s condemnation of Navistar’s ugly anti-union campaign. Workers deserve to be able to decide for themselves on the question of unionization without having their employers coerce them,” NAALC President Jacob Morrison told APR. “We commend the workers who started this union campaign and commit to continuing to support them as they fight for better working conditions.”
