Mercedes Hired Squad Of Anti-Union Consultants To Combat Alabama Organizing

Mercedes-Benz USA hired a large team of anti-union consultants to help the company defeat an organizing effort by the United Auto Workers union earlier this month, according to new disclosures with the Labor Department.

The filings show the automaker contracted with three consulting firms to bring on at least 11 “persuaders” to hold meetings with workers about the union ahead of an election. Employees at the Vance, Alabama, plant ultimately voted 2,045 to 2,642 against forming a union, a setback for the UAW as it tries to organize Southern auto facilities.

Employers often spend big bucks to hire persuaders to hold what are known as “captive audience” meetings — mandatory gatherings where workers tend to hear anti-union talking points. The going rate these days is around $3,200 per day for each consultant.

Mercedes did not immediately respond Tuesday when asked how much it spent. The company had said ahead of the election that it “ fully respects our Team Members’ choice whether to unionize.” It also said it was making sure that employees had “access to the information necessary to make an informed choice.”

Both employers and consultants are legally required to disclose their arrangements to the Labor Department. Mercedes won’t be required to report how much it spent on the campaign until next year.

But workers at the Vance plant said consultants appeared to be holding meetings daily in the weeks ahead of the election. With such a large roster of contractors, the company easily could have spent in the hundreds of thousands of dollars on the effort. (The Labor Department filings can be seen here, here, here and here.)

“It’s been nonstop anti-union. We’ve had to go to meetings every day,” Rick Webster, a worker and