The president of the United Auto Workers says Mercedes-Benz is not coming through with promised pay increases, improved benefits and other promises made prior to May’s union election at the Alabama auto factory.

In a June 19 letter to the German works council and IG Metall, a German metalworkers union, UAW President Shawn Fain said the company is telling workers it “cannot follow through on” promised improvements because of the union.

German workers councils are made up of elected employees working with management on behalf of employees. The UAW collaborated with the workers councils in its successful union vote at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant.

Fain says workers are being told the company is unable to follow through on promised increases in wages, benefits and working conditions because the UAW has filed objections to last month’s vote at the Tuscaloosa County plant.

Workers at the plants in Vance and Woodstock in May voted to reject UAW as its union representative, with 2,642 ballots cast against unionization and 2,045 in favor.

The union petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to reject the election results at the German automaker’s Vance plant and order a new election, saying employees faced “an unprecedented, illegal anti-union campaign waged against them by their employer.”

In the letter, Fain said the company is blaming the union “rather than keeping their commitments to make improvements for workers.”

“Around June 5, MBUSI VP of Operations Rolf Wrona told several Group Leaders that MBUSI could not pay workers for an upcoming plant shutdown because they were still in ‘status quo,’” Fain wrote. “Status quo refers to a specific legal standard in U.S. labor law that requires unionized employees to notify the union prior to making any changes to wages, benefits or working conditions…”

As MBUSI is not unionized, Fain argued, no status quo condition should exist.

In a statement by a company spokesperson, Mercedes-Benz said the plant has worked during the union process “to communicate fully and accurately with all of its Team Members about the implications of union representation.”

“Over 90 percent of MBUSI Team Members made their voices heard and we continue to work directly with our Team Members on measures to ensure we remain an employer of choice and provide a safe and supportive work environment,” the spokesperson said.

“We have a proven record of competitively compensating Team Members and providing many additional benefits. As we wait for final review of the election by the NLRB, we continue to work to build upon our strong record of success over the past 25+ years operating as One Team in Alabama.”