Mercedes-Benz rejected allegations this week that it has engaged in anti-union tactics at its Vance, Alabama, plant, which is facing a union election this month.
The German carmaker reaffirmed its commitment to a free and fair union election, saying so Wednesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
“Mercedes respects the decision of the employees to establish a trade union organization, and it will monitor the election process and will make sure that every team member has the opportunity to cast a secret vote,” board member Renata Jungo Bruengger said at the meeting.
The United Auto Workers, working to unionize Mercedes’ Alabama location, accused the automaker of trying to crush the growing union. The union has filed federal labor charges against Mercedes in the U.S. and Germany for alleged labor law violations.
Workers at the Vance plant are expected to vote on whether to join the UAW in a May 13-17 election.
The vote is the second test in as many months of the UAW’s ability to expand its membership beyond the Detroit automakers. In April, workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW.