Loss could hurt union's efforts to organize Southern auto plants.
VANCE, AL—Workers at two Mercedes-Benz factories in central Alabama voted against allowing the United Auto Workers to represent them, a blow to the union’s campaign to gain ground in the South, where it has traditionally been weak.
The defeat came after Kay Ivey, Alabama’s governor, and other Republican leaders argued that a pro-union vote would choke off the investment that has transformed the state into a major auto producer. The union’s setback dims the chances that it will be able to quickly organize workers at Hyundai and Honda, which also have assembly plants in Alabama.