Anti-union group calls UAW president ‘election denier’ over Alabama Mercedes vote in New York Times ad

An anti-union group is slamming United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain in the pages of The New York Times following the union election at Mercedes-Benz’s Alabama plant.

The Center for Union Facts, a non-profit, is responsible for the full-page advertisement, appearing Thursday.

“In a secret ballot election earlier this month, workers at the Alabama Mercedes plant voted 56% against UAW representation,” the ad states.

“Now, UAW President Shawn Fain wants to toss out the election results, asking the Biden NLRB to override the workers’ decision and force them to vote again.

“Fain should stop trying to undermine workplace democracy,” the ad states.

Last week, the UAW filed with the National Labor Relations Board to reject this month’s union election at the German automaker’s Vance plant and order a new election.

See also: Why the union vote failed at Alabama’s Mercedes-Benz plant

The union contends that the company violated labor law when it fired four pro-union workers and allowed anti-union employees to solicit support on company time, while at the same time preventing union supporters from doing the same.

A Mercedes spokesperson said more than 90 percent of the plant’s workforce “made their voices heard through a secret-ballot vote and the majority indicated they are not interested in being represented by the UAW for purposes of collective bargaining.”

Workers at Vance and the company’s Bibb County battery plant voted 2,045 to 2,642 against UAW representation — a margin of 597 votes.