Workers at the Navistar engine plant in Huntsville have voted against forming a union, ending a closely watched organizing effort backed by the North Alabama Area Labor Council and the United Auto Workers (UAW).

According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), 228 workers were eligible to vote in Thursday’s election. Of the ballots counted, 73 supported union representation while 142 opposed it.

As 256 Today reported prior to the vote, the plant—located near Huntsville International Airport—produces powertrains for diesel trucks and employs nearly 250 workers. The North Alabama Area Labor Council encouraged a “yes” vote, with Alabama Arise’s Worker Power Campaign Director Adam Keller saying unions are “every bit as Alabama as football, sweet tea, and biscuits.”

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Navistar management opposed the effort, telling employees in a letter that joining a union “is not necessary here in Huntsville” and describing the labor council as an “outside organization.” The council, in turn, urged workers to ignore what it called “anti-union propaganda” from the Business Council of Alabama.

In a statement after the vote, the UAW alleged that “statewide political and business elites have closed ranks to protect their power and privilege, stacking the deck against Alabama workers.” The union claimed that the statewide business lobby and allied government officials spent “tens of thousands of dollars on commercials, digital ads, and union-busting consultants” to influence the outcome.

The UAW further accused Navistar management of violating a neutrality agreement with other UAW-represented employees and engaging in “illegal intimidation tactics and coercion.” It also criticized International Motors—Navistar’s parent company and a subsidiary of Germany’s Traton Group—for not following its stated policy of neutrality, alleging the company’s CEO visited the plant to campaign against unionization.

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Ten days before the vote, management reinstated a health insurance plan previously removed, which the union described as an attempt to “buy back support.”

“While the workers and the UAW followed the neutrality policy and the letter of the law, International Motors and Alabama’s anti-worker corporate special interest groups stopped at nothing to prevent workers from using their power to improve their lives,” the statement said.

The UAW said it will pursue Unfair Labor Practice charges and use the grievance process to continue pressing its case.

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].