Mercedes workers near Tuscaloosa, Ala., voted against joining the United Auto Workers union on Friday, delivering a blow to the labor movement’s efforts to organize auto factories and other industries across the South.
About 5,000 workers at the German automaker’s sprawling facility were eligible to vote in the election. The vote was 2,642 against to 2,045 in favor, according to the National Labor Relations Board, with 44 percent of votes cast in favor of the union, which needed a majority to win.
