(The Center Square) – Secret ballot elections at companies that receive taxpayer incentives is required in a new Alabama law.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed Senate Bill 231 into law on Monday as Mercedes-Benz workers at the Vance plant near Tuscaloosa starting voting for possibly joining the United Auto Workers. The election ends on Friday.
The new law, which was sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, became effective after Ivey signed it.
“This week in Tuscaloosa, we have a secret ballot taking place at the Mercedes plant,” Ivey said in a speech at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber’s Alabama Update. “It is my hope that every worker there votes – it’s crucial that every voice is heard. We want to ensure that Alabama values, not Detroit values, continue to define the future of this great state.”
The second-term Republican governor said the new law was to ensure “every vote is counted.”
“My message is clear: I am standing up for Alabamians and protecting our jobs,” Ivey said. “We will not let this threat from Detroit deter our progress, deter our hope and deter our folks’ prosperity.”
In April, 73% of workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant voted to join the United Auto Workers. The UAW has poured time and money into organization efforts at auto plants located in the South, which are right-to-work states.
Ivey joined five other Republican governors in the South – Georgia’s Brian Kemp, Mississippi’s Tate Reeves, South Carolina’s Henry McMaster and Texas’ Greg Abbott – to write a recent joint letter blasting the unionization efforts.
Alabama has several auto plants, all of which received taxpayer incentives both state and local that employ about 47,000 workers. In addition to Mercedes’ plant near Tuscaloosa, the state has Hyundai (Montgomery), Honda (Lincoln) and Mazda and Toyota (Madison). According to the Alabama Department of Commerce, exports of Alabama-made vehicles topped $11 billion in 2023.