Alabama’s new Commerce secretary says “the days of Alabama being a premier destination for industry investment may be coming to an end” if the United Auto Workers are able to successfully organize in the state’s auto plants.

Ellen McNair, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce since January, released a statement Wednesday promising a fight against an ongoing UAW drive in Alabama’s auto manufacturing operations, which she said “places our state’s main economic driver in the crosshairs.”

The statement comes at the same time the Business Council of Alabama CEO Helena Duncan announced a website, Alabama Strong, online advertisements, and a campaign to “provide Alabamians with a full and thorough picture of the economic dangers that unionization presents,” as Duncan stated in an op-ed.

Earlier this month, Gov. Kay Ivey said, in a statement posted on the Alabama Department of Commerce page, that the union push by the UAW means that Alabama’s “model for economic success is under attack.”

The campaign comes in response to a renewed push by UAW to organize in Southern auto plants. In January, UAW announced that about 1,500 workers at Mercedes-Benz’s Vance auto plant have joined the union.

Auto plants in the Deep South have long resisted unionization for decades, with high profile drives to organize failing in right-to-work states. The ultimate goal of the union’s drive, according to UAW materials, is to reach the 70% threshold of workers signed with the union.

In McNair’s statement, she noted that five automakers – Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda and Toyota – have invested roughly $15 billion in their operations in Alabama.

All of this happened, she said, without the involvement of the UAW. Those operations could shift to Mexico or other locations, McNair warned.

“The fact is neither the industry nor its Alabama workforce would really be better off with a union,” McNair stated. “We respect the right of Alabama’s autoworkers to make their own decision on the union issue. At the same time, we urge them to get all the facts before they sign campaign cards or make a commitment they may regret…

“With so much on the line, we’re urging the state’s autoworkers to carefully evaluate those union promises at this critical moment. The future of Alabama’s auto industry — and the state’s long-term growth prospects — hangs in the balance.”