VANCE, Alabama -- Could this be the year the United Auto Workers union finally finds an open door at an Alabama auto assembly plant and thus establishes a foothold in the southern U.S. auto sector?

It's impossible to know for sure, but signs point to the most aggressive organizing campaign yet at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance in Tuscaloosa County, as well as employees who are primed to hear the union message.

Key factors new to this campaign include the backing of the German labor union IG Metall and a focus on the region directed from the highest level of the UAW. The union has similar efforts underway at other auto plants in the South operated by foreign automakers, including Volkswagen in Chattanooga and Nissan in Canton, Miss.

And another, less measurable factor appears to be increasing unrest among at least some of the workers at the Mercedes plant, which kicked off the state's auto industry 20 years ago when the German automaker selected Vance for its first U.S. manufacturing operations.

Whether the UAW's campaign is successful matters beyond the walls of the plant. State business recruiters tout the union's limited presence when pitching to new prospects, and a greater UAW presence could have political ramifications, too

Seeking respect

Interviews with employees supporting the UAW campaign, along with comments posted online at AL.com during the past week from people who say they work at the plant, show a few common threads.

As a workplace, Mercedes has changed since its early days of operations, putting less focus on employees and more on the bottom line, pro-union workers say. While better pensions, benefits and more input in work schedules are concerns, it all seems to boil down to an overriding wish: respect.

"With a union, you have representation, you have a certain degree of power to where the assistant managers, instead of walking around like they own the joint, walk around like we are working together," said Jeb Hughes, who works in the body and paint department and has been at the plant since 2004.

It used to be that way, say Hughes and Don White, an 18-year employee who works in logistics. When they first went to work at the plant, both men argued against unionization every chance they got.

But today, it's a different story. What used to be regular raises have turned into lump sum payments that are far less lucrative than the pay bumps, they say, and company policies are implemented inconsistently throughout the plant, resulting in a "buddy-buddy" system that's unfair to the average worker.

Meanwhile, the plant has increasingly turned to temporary workers, as other automakers have as a way to manage the ups and downs of demand. The company doesn't pinpoint the number of temps it employs.

But the situation has created a divide and not just among the lower-paid temps. Full-fledged Mercedes employees also are wary of what the trend means for the stability of their own jobs, Hughes said.

White said IG Metall has successfully negotiated raises and other benefits for the workers it represents in Germany. He acknowledges that there are differences between the way the two unions operate, as well as the labor laws in the U.S. and Germany, but what they share is the ability to give employees a voice, he said.

"I honestly never thought I'd be in this position today," he said. "The family-oriented atmosphere that Mercedes had has gone by the wayside. I can't put a finger on when it happened, but as with most businesses, it all comes down to the bottom line."

Opposition too

Mercedes says it has always been neutral on the topic of unionization at the plant and that will continue. That decision is up to employees, according to a company statement.

But it also says the plant has a team-oriented work environment, which fosters open communication, competitive wages and benefits, and direct access to management.

While some of the workers are actively campaigning for the UAW, others are arguing against the union, citing its declining membership and ties to the woes of the Detroit-based Big 3 automakers: General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. That's also been evident among commenters on AL.com who identify themselves as Mercedes workers, as well as those who agreed to interviews.

Deb Johnson, a 16-year employee who works in supplier quality, said the company has exceeded every promise it made when she was hired shortly after the first M-Class SUV rolled off the assembly line in 1997.

Yes, the raises aren't plentiful like they were in the early days, but that can't go on forever, she said.

"Otherwise, we get to go the way of Detroit."

But she cites the lump sum payments, as well as extra cash for no unexcused absences. The plant also pays well, with good benefits, she says, including a 401K program with a company match and a lump sum contribution. Her Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance is top-notch, she added, and there's a new on-site health clinic that requires no co-payment.

Johnson said her husband was a union worker with U.S. Pipe; over the years, his union dues ate into his meager rise in pay. The UAW can't do anything for the Mercedes plant, she said.

"I'm 60 years old, and I don't need a man or a woman to speak for me," she said.

Sonny Hawthorne, another 16-year employee who is a team leader in quality operations, said organizing at the Mercedes plant would be a coup for the UAW but the plant would see no benefit.

As for his colleagues who support the UAW, Hawthorne said they have forgotten how much prosperity the automaker has brought to West Alabama.

"They've gotten spoiled. They've forgotten what life was like around here before Mercedes," he said.

The UAW campaign comes during a time of major growth for the 2,900-worker plant, which is adding jobs and products amid more than $2 billion in recent investment in Tuscaloosa County.

It's a dramatic turnaround from the scene there in 2008 and 2009, when a global industry sales slump led Mercedes and other automakers to slash jobs and production. Even though times are good now, memories of the tough times remain. That's another factor that's different from previous, unsuccessful UAW campaigns at the plant. Those efforts happened before the downturn.

These days, the plant's output has been at record highs. About 1,400 new jobs are expected over the next few years, as the plant begins producing the C-Class sedan next year and a new SUV the following year. Workers currently build the M-Class, along with the GL-Class SUV and R-Class crossover.

Would a successful UAW organizing effort change any of this prosperity? Supporters say no, and those opposed to the union say yes.

Statewide impact

A union would certainly bring changes for workers, and it also could affect economic development, since Alabama's business recruiters use the UAW's limited involvement in the state auto industry as a selling point for prospects.

Gov. Robert Bentley said last month that the Mercedes plant doesn't need a union. The governor often cites the automaker's success in Alabama in his pitches for new jobs for the state.

A resurgent UAW in the South could have implications that go far beyond the plants they organize, said Matt Patterson, senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based libertarian think tank, Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Patterson, who spoke earlier this month at a forum in Chattanooga about the UAW campaign at the Volkswagen plant, said he wants to educate the community about the possible economic consequences of a successful union effort at that plant.

"I would not be surprised if a resurgent UAW in the southern auto sector meant a push for the repeal of right-to-work laws. They are strong supporters of progressive and liberal causes...I don't think their influence would stop at the factory door," he said.

Despite the critics, the UAW effort is gaining at least some steam. Five of Mercedes' suppliers in Alabama are unionized, including two that held votes won by the UAW in the past year. And next month, an election will be held at another supplier: Faurecia Interior Systems in Tuscaloosa.

While UAW membership has plunged dramatically over the past few decades, it's been rising again in recent years. Earlier this year, the union reported 382,513 members in 2012, its third consecutive annual gain and a 7.7 percent growth since 2009.

Still, the UAW's current membership is only about a quarter of its peak in 1979, when there were 1.5 million members. UAW President Bob King has said that the union's long-term survival depends on organizing auto plants in the South.

A popular refrain among union opponents is that the UAW was responsible for the 2009 bankruptcies and federal bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler.

Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for the auto website Edmunds.com, said that's not a fair assessment.

"Everybody had a hand in what happened. Frankly, the UAW gave concessions that helped get GM and Chrysler where they are today," she said. Both companies are now reporting rising sales and market share.

But there's an anti-union sentiment in the U.S. right now that will likely make the UAW's latest push in the South difficult, as it has been in the past, Krebs said. Unions, and not just the UAW, have been a punching bag for the Republicans, and they've also been blamed for the City of Detroit's recent bankruptcy.

"We're in an environment that's very hostile towards unions," she said.

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