Over the past several years, Alabama workers have found themselves at the center of three high-profile labor disputes in three industries. Antwon McGhee (left) has worked as a coal miner for 17 years. Isaiah Thomas formerly worked at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer. Moesha Chandler works in assembly at Mercedes-Benz in Vance. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
Jeremy Kimbrell has worked at the Mercedes plant in Vance, Ala., since 1999. Having been involved in several failed union drives, he says this latest one feels different. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., celebrate as results from the union election at the auto plant come in on April 19, 2024. The final tally was 2,628 votes in favor of unionizing and 985 against. Stephan Bisaha/Gulf States Newsroom hide caption
Some 4,300 hourly workers at this Volkswagen automobile assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., are voting this week on whether to join the United Auto Workers union. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption
A giant Mercedes-Benz logo towers over the tree line at the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant in Vance, Ala., on June 7, 2017. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption