Rep. Mike Rogers responded to recent fiery comments made by United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain against Gov. Kay Ivey.

“Right now, workers at the Mercedes plant in Tuscaloosa are organizing to unionize with the UAW. Of course, they're fighting back because the company isn't going to take it lying down, and neither are the wealthy. And politicians are getting involved. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently boldly stated that the Southern economic model is under attack,” Fain said at a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday. “And she's right! It's under attack because workers are tired of being exploited.”

The UAW is pushing to unionize the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, near Tuscaloosa, and recently announced that more than half of the plant's employees have signed union authorization cards. The organization wants 70 percent of the plant's employees to sign union cards before petitioning for a union election.

Rep. Rogers (R-Saxe District) responded to Fain's comments on Thursday.

“We've seen what the UAW has done to Detroit, and we don't want any of the stuff they're selling,” Rogers said. “Under Governor Ivey's leadership, Alabama is now number one in the nation in auto exports, and the reason the UAW is attacking the governor is because they want to stop all that growth.”

I've seen what the UAW did to Detroit. I don't want any of what they're selling. Under Governor Ivey's leadership, Alabama is now number one in the nation in auto exports. The UAW is attacking her because they want to stop all that growth. https://t.co/PheShmKg9V

— Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) April 4, 2024

Governor Ivey echoed Governor Fain's criticism, arguing that unionization would hurt the state's future economic growth.

“It's no wonder the UAW wants to make gains here in Alabama,” Ivey said. “Let me be very clear: this threat from Detroit has no desire for Alabamians to succeed, no desire for auto manufacturers to succeed and no desire for the state to succeed as it is right now.”

No wonder the UAW wants a cut of the profits here in Alabama.

And let me be very clear: this threat from Detroit does not want Alabamians to succeed, does not want our OEMs to succeed, and by extension, does not want our state to succeed as it currently does. https://t.co/HD3e0ukX3L

— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) April 4, 2024

Both Rogers and Ivey pointed to the fact that Alabama is set to export more than $11 billion in vehicles in 2023, making it the nation's leader in auto exports.

Yaffe is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News and hosts “The Yaffe Program” weekdays from 9-11 a.m. WhistlerYou can follow us on Twitter @Yaffe