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Workers at Mercedes-Benz’s largest U.S. plant have filed multiple federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board over allegations that the German company is using aggressive and illegal union-busting. tactics Workers are requesting an injunction to put an end to the company’s retaliation against workers In February, Mercedes workers announced that a majority of their coworkers at the Mercedes plant in Vance had signed union authorization cards. Every Mercedes plant in the world is unionized—except the company’s two plants in the United States. The powerful German automotive trade union IG Metall has thus far not publicly commented.
“Since we started organizing, I put in my FMLA leave with management multiple times and every time they said they lost the paperwork,” said Lakeisha Carter, a Mercedes employee in the battery plant. “I’m an outspoken union supporter and Mercedes illegally disciplined me for medical absences that were clearly covered by my FMLA requests. It’s just plain retaliation from Mercedes, but I’m not going to be intimidated.” Continue reading
Home EV Charging More Satisfying Than Public Charging
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Home charging offers a much more satisfying experience for electric vehicle owners when compared with public charging, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging StudySM, released today. Thus the EV experience is similar to bathroom satisfaction in AutoInformed’s view.
“Home charging is the most satisfying aspect of owning an EV [footnote 1], which is why all parties in the EV ecosystem need to take the necessary steps to ensure that residential charging is available for current and potential EV owners alike,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. Incentives and programs are also available to offset the cost of charger installations, upgrades and management of ongoing charging costs, but too few EV shoppers are taking advantage of these offerings. The industry needs to do a much better job with consumer education and awareness, and dealers are certainly in the best position to fill that role at a local level.” Continue reading →