Workers at the largest Mercedes-Benz factory in the U.S. will vote next month on whether to join the United Auto Workers union.

The National Labor Relations Board announced Thursday that it has set the vote for May 13-17 at the German automaker’s facilities in Vance and Woodstock, Ala.

What You Need To Know

  • Workers at the largest Mercedes-Benz factory in the U.S. will vote next month on whether to join the United Auto Workers union

  • The National Labor Relations Board has set the vote for May 13-17

  • It's the second non-union auto plant to reach the point of holding a union election

  • Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee are voting on whether to join the UAW this week

Earlier this month, the UAW said a supermajority of the plants’ workers had filed a petition with the NLRB to hold the vote, joining a growing movement of non-union auto factories that are attempting to replicate record contracts the union won for the Big Three Detroit automakers last year.

On Wednesday, workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee began voting on whether to join the UAW. The NLRB expects results from that vote late Friday.

About 6,100 people work at the Alabama factory that makes the GLE and GLS SUVs and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS for all of its markets globally. The plant also makes Mercedes’ all-electric models: the EQE, EQS and Mercedes-Maybach EQS.

More than 4 million vehicles have been built at the factory since 1997, according to Mercedes, including 295,000 SUVs last year.

Next month’s UAW vote will include all full-time and regular part-time production and maintenance employees at both Mercedes factories in Alabama. Employees who work for contractors, leasing companies or temporary agencies, as well as guards, managers and supervisors, are excluded. The NLRB expects results from the vote will be available on the final day of voting, May 17.

Mercedes-Benz “fully respects our team members’ choice whether to unionize, and we look forward to participating in the election process to ensure every team member has a chance to cast their own secret-ballot vote, as well as having access to the information necessary to make an informed choice,” a spokesperson told Spectrum News.

“Our primary focus is always to provide a safe and supportive work environment for our team members so they can continue to build safe and superior vehicles for the world. We believe open and direct communication with our team members is the best path forward to ensure continued success.”

The Mercedes factories are the second non-union auto plants to reach the point of holding an election since the UAW began targeting them last year.

Last month, 30% of workers at a Toyota factory in Missouri said they had signed union authorization cards. Workers at Hyundai factory in Montgomery, Ala., are also organizing, according to the UAW.