DETROIT, May 13 (Reuters) - Workers at a Mercedes-Benz

plant in Alabama began voting Monday on whether to

join the United Auto Workers union, a significant test of

whether the labor group can maintain momentum in the

historically anti-union American South.

A union victory at the plant, weeks after a resounding win at a

Volkswagen factory in Tennessee, would be a

watershed moment for the UAW as it seeks to organize more than a

dozen automakers across the nation and add to its dwindling

ranks.

The campaign at Mercedes has been much more contentious. The

company has urged workers to vote no, according to fliers and

signage viewed by Reuters. Mercedes also hired anti-union firms

to speak with workers, plant employees said.

Mercedes has rejected claims it prevented union organizing

efforts in Alabama. A spokeswoman said the company respects

employee unionizing efforts and is ensuring every worker has a

chance to vote by secret ballot while having the information

needed to make an informed choice.

The 5,200 employees at the assembly plant and nearby battery

factory will cast ballots this week, with final results expected

Friday.

UAW President Shawn Fain has spent more than a year strategizing

his path to win over non-union auto workers, and it all began

with new labor contracts in Detroit.

Fain became UAW president in March 2023 and led the union

through its first simultaneous strike against the Detroit Three

automakers: General Motors ( GM ), Ford and Jeep-maker

Stellantis ( STLA ). The six-week walkout resulted in record

agreements, including a 25% wage increase and the return of

cost-of-living adjustments.

Making a strong showing in the Motor City was critical for

wooing workers in the South, Fain has said.

In the halls of the Mercedes plant, where workers produce

electric and gas-engine SUVs, the Detroit contracts became a

pro-UAW talking point.

"That is the biggest thing that we're using to push because

we can show how much the union can win now," Mercedes worker

Jacob Ryan said. He supports the union because he feels the

company has not addressed worker concerns around pay, hours and

benefits.

Ryan, who has been a full-time worker at the plant for about

five years, has been encouraging unionization since before Fain

was elected.

Less than two years ago, he and fellow organizers struggled

to get 20% of workers to sign cards supporting the UAW. Now, the

plant has a supermajority of those cards, according to the UAW,

which typically files for an NLRB election once a facility has

reached a threshold of 70% of workers in favor of joining.

However, the factory sits deep in the American South, which has

historically been more resistant to unions. In one of its last

efforts there in August 2017, the UAW lost a vote at Nissan's ( NSANF )

Canton, Mississippi, plant by a 2-to-1 margin.

"The challenge is very significant to win at the Mercedes

plant and in states like Alabama ... where there really has been

so little union activity," said Kate Andrias, a professor at

Columbia Law School who specializes in labor law.

Mercedes has mounted a more aggressive campaign against the

union than VW did, labor professors and workers said. It has

held meetings led by company executives as well as outside labor

firms emphasizing the risks of joining the UAW, according to

workers and meeting audio reviewed by Reuters. Signage posted

around the plant, which company leaders pointed to in meetings,

urged workers to "vote no," according to employees and photos

reviewed by Reuters.

This is also the first election at the plant, whereas the

UAW had two attempts at VW before winning.

"I don't know that they have spent the same amount of

time and investment in Vance, Alabama, as they did over the

years in Chattanooga," Art Wheaton, labor professor at Cornell

University, said, comparing the Mercedes and VW efforts.

The UAW just reached an agreement on a new labor contract for

Daimler Truck employees at several facilities in the South.

Daimler Truck was once part of the same company as Mercedes.

State governments in the South have waged strong resistance

to unionizing. Six governors, including Alabama's Kay Ivey,

signed a letter urging workers to reject the UAW. They said

unionization would stunt the auto industry's growth across the

South.

In meetings with workers, company leaders and outside firms

have suggested that workers wait and see what happens in the VW

contract talks, pointing to some negotiations at other companies

that have taken 400 days.

Others feel Mercedes is finally taking workers' concerns

seriously. The automaker recently replaced the president of its

U.S. business, and some workers said they are encouraged by the

actions of the newly appointed Federico Kochlowski.

Melissa Howell, an 18-year employee at the plant, fears

bringing in a union could interrupt this momentum.

"We as team members, without a union in there right now, we

really have a great advantage," Howell said. "They clearly

understand that we are not happy and they are listening."