National Security Adviser Pressed Germany at UAW Chief’s Request

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan prodded Germany to investigate allegations of union suppression at a Mercedes-Benz Group AG plant in Alabama at the direct request of the United Auto Workers president, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

Sullivan asked German officials in a call preceding last month’s union vote at the Vance plant to examine complaints filed by the UAW under a law aimed at preventing German companies from violating labor standards abroad, the two sources said.

They said he did so at the personal urging of UAW President Shawn Fain in the run up to the crucial election, which the union lost. The sources were granted anonymity in order to discuss conversations between the two countries.

The request shows how close the White House and the UAW have become as the 2024 election nears. The union initially withheld public support of President Joe Biden‘s re-election over concerns surrounding the administration’s push for a transition to electric vehicles—namely, that jobs would be lost. The group endorsed him only after he traveled to Michigan last September to walk a picket line during the union’s strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers.

One of the people familiar with the call said it demonstrated Sullivan’s commitment to a White House order last November, which adopted a “whole of government” approach to advancing workers’ rights globally. The memo pledges an “ambitious and comprehensive Federal Government policy on global labor rights and standards, elevating the United States’ global leadership on labor rights and standards.”

A White House spokeswoman declined to confirm that Sullivan communicated with the German government, but did say US national security officials spoke with their counterparts on “economic issues.”

Union Support

The UAW lost the election at Mercedes May 18 by a wide margin, and is challenging the results before the National Labor Relations Board. It has filed for a new election, alleging the company required workers to attend anti-union meetings and fired union supporters.

Biden has gone out of his way to keep Fain in his corner. The UAW president—who ran last year on a pledge to bring the union out of its corrupt past—represents tens of thousands of blue-collar manufacturing workers in Midwestern swing states. Former President Donald Trump is also looking to win those workers, and has warned at his rallies that the Biden administration’s pro-electric vehicles policies could hurt them.

Biden appointed Fain to the White House Export Council on May 31. In April, he penned a glowing testimonial of Fain for Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in 2024.

“Shawn and I share a basic view of how workers deserve to be treated,” Biden wrote. “Just as they sacrificed when their employers were on the brink, they deserve record contracts when those companies have record profits.”

Two UAW spokespeople didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Investigations Ongoing

Bloomberg News previously reported that an unnamed official in the US government had raised the allegations with German officials. The disclosure prompted backlash from Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), the Republican chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, who called it “an unusual action” by the administration.

“The actions of the administration have been in all cases to tip the scale in favor of the unions, and it’s supposed to be neutral,” Foxx said during a May 22 hearing on unions’ tactics to win elections.

The UAW said May 16 that its complaints were under investigation by the German government. Spokespeople for the German Chancellery didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, though Germany’s Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control says it investigates every complaint.

Mercedes spokesperson Andrea Berg declined to comment on Sullivan’s involvement, but said the company cooperates with “all authorities,” including the German export control office.

Mercedes “has not interfered with or retaliated against any Team Member in their right to pursue union representation,” she said in an email, adding that the company “firmly denies it has made any adverse employment decision based on union affiliation.”

The Mercedes election was part of an ambitious campaign to organize another 150,000 workers, emboldened by victories in the first-ever strike against all three Detroit automakers. The union brought home a landmark victory in April when 73% of workers voted to unionize a Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Mercedes, as the second target in the South, proved more difficult. Workers voted 2,642 to 2,045 against unionization.

— With assistance from Diego Areas Munhoz and Josh Eidelson of Bloomberg News