ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Lewis Hamilton sat at a table together with his race engineer Peter Bonnington on the roof of the Mercedes hospitality department at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, cooled by nearby fans working hard within the midday heat to make some preparations. Planning the race weekend.

It was a routine they’d passed through again and again before – 245 times in truth – however the 246th time was slightly more emotional. After 12 years, 84 race wins and 6 world championships, representing probably the most successful driver-team partnership in Formula 1 history, this was Hamilton's final race weekend as a Mercedes driver.

Hamilton's conversations with Bonnington, affectionately often called “Bono” and someone Hamilton has in comparison with a brother, remained as skilled as ever. They knew there was a job to be done. But a number of hours later, the seven-time world champion admitted that those conversations got here with an added level of emotion.

“You sit there and realize these are the last moments with the team and that's… it's hard to describe that feeling,” Hamilton said. “It's obviously not the greatest, but I think, more than anything, I'm really proud of what we've achieved.”

The “last dance” for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes lasted ten months. On February 1, Hamilton announced this move He moved to Ferrari for 2025, securing the 39-year-old one final drive in the enduring red F1 cars to finish his illustrious profession. Abu Dhabi has at all times been a very important Grand Prix.

But at the tip of a grueling 12 months on the circuit, which has ranged from the highs of victories at Silverstone and Spa to the lows towards the tip of the season, each Hamilton and Mercedes are determined to complete on a high note.

“It’s a really beautiful journey that you take together,” Hamilton said. “And because it was so long, the emotions run so deep.”

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Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, already suspected what was coming when Hamilton arrived at his home in Oxfordshire for the pre-season catch-up meeting.

Fred Vasseur, Ferrari's F1 boss and shut friend of Wolff, had not responded to a text message asking if he would “take our driver with him”, and the daddy of Carlos Sainz, whom Hamilton would replace, had one for the Mercedes boss Hint on condition that could occur.

Looking back on Thursday, Hamilton admitted it was an “uncomfortable” meeting with Wolff to interrupt the news that their partnership was ending. Just eight months earlier, they’d agreed a contract extension that appeared to reaffirm their commitment, which Hamilton had previously thought would last long gone the tip of his time racing in Formula One. Their joint work on campaigns to support long-overdue changes to diversity and equality in Formula 1 is a legacy which means more to Hamilton than his racing successes.

It also caused a 12 months of him admitting that he had “massively underestimated” himself emotionally. “It put a strain on the relationship very early on; “It took some time for people to get over it,” Hamilton admitted. “And for myself it was a very emotional year. And I don’t think I was at my best dealing with those emotions.”

Hamilton has at all times worn his heart on his sleeve, as evidenced by the tears that flowed after he ended his two-and-a-half 12 months victory drought at Silverstone. The intimacy of his relationship with Mercedes allows for a brutal honesty that has weathered significant disappointments – like his title defeat to teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016 or, more controversially, what happened in Abu Dhabi three years ago when he won his eighth world title, the Record, missed.

Wolff has at all times enjoyed picking at open wounds, knowing that this is commonly the one solution to understand easy methods to improve a situation. He felt Hamilton and Mercedes had “done a good job” of coping with the emotions of this 12 months.

“When he made the decision to leave at the beginning of the season, we knew it could be a bumpy year,” said Wolff in Qatar. “He knows he will go somewhere else. We know that our future lies with Kimi (Antonelli). Going through the ups and downs and still sticking together between us is something we have achieved.”

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“I’m just slow.”

It could seem fanciful for a seven-time world champion to say these words. But there was a way of resignation as Hamilton handled a difficult practice Friday for the Qatar Grand Prix wherein he didn't feel the automobile was giving him back the performance he needed. This continued a seasonal trend.

For a lot of the 12 months the Mercedes W15 had not adapted to his driving style and had not allowed him to get the pace he needed, especially over a single lap. In 23 races this season, Hamilton trails George Russell 18-5 in qualifying and is 24 points behind within the drivers' standings.

The day after Hamilton made that comment when he qualified sixth in Qatar while Russell was P2 and almost half a second quicker, he was asked to elaborate. Did he really mean that he had lost his edge? Is this an indication of the decline that almost all top drivers and sports stars experience as they approach their 40s?

“I know I still have it,” Hamilton said. “(It's) just that the car isn't going any faster. I definitely know I still have it. That's not a question for me. (I’m) looking forward to the end.”

It wasn't the primary time Hamilton gave such a bleak outlook. After the race in Brazil, where he had dropped to tenth in rainy conditions while Russell had been in contention for victory before the red flag, he admitted he “could happily go on holiday” as a substitute of the ultimate treble to drive. Header. As the W15 got here to life within the cold in Las Vegas and gave Mercedes a one-two finish, Hamilton seemed upset that he hadn't been the one to take the lead, having found himself P10 in qualifying while Russell was up the Pole stood.

“These last few races, maybe even the whole season, were clearly not what we expected,” said Wolff in Qatar. “This car is a handful to drive on the worst days.”

But how much did that hurt Hamilton in a way that it didn't for Russell? Wolff attributed a few of this to Hamilton's driving style. “One of his strengths is that he can always brake late and attack the corner, and the car can't take that,” he said, adding that the issue gets worse when grip decreases in slow corners. “Then if the car slides more and he lacks grip, that contributes to (him) probably suffering more than George.”

In Qatar, Vasseur said he was “not at all” nervous concerning the type of his latest star signing. “Look at the 50 laps he drove in Vegas, starting 10th (and finishing on Russell’s gearbox), Vasseur said. “I’m not worried at all.”

The progress Ferrari has made this 12 months, recovering from its mid-season slump and McLaren's late challenge for the constructors' title, can even reassure Hamilton that he can return to form. He stressed on Thursday that his focus stays on Mercedes heading into his final weekend, but that there’s a natural excitement concerning the next chapter.

“It really inspires motivation,” said Hamilton, “and it’s a dream scenario for any driver to get an opportunity like this. “I don’t take that for granted.”

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Whenever Hamilton hangs up his helmet and ends his hugely successful profession, this time at Mercedes can be probably the most lasting and definitive a part of his racing legacy.

When he decided to make a surprising move in 2012 to maneuver away from McLaren, then consistently certainly one of the leading Formula 1 teams, it was derided as a mistake: a move into the midfield, away from the team that brought Hamilton into Formula 1 had brought, and into it the unknown.

It turned out to be the appropriate move at the appropriate time. McLaren was on the verge of starting a decade-long decline, while Mercedes was on the verge of launching a record-breaking F1 dynasty with Hamilton at its heart.

The move also allowed Hamilton to grow to be himself. His evolution from a 27-year-old former champion to certainly one of Formula 1's elder statesmen, on the verge of his fortieth birthday, with seven world titles to his name, with interests and celebrity status that stretch far beyond this paddock, has been impressive.

At the doorway to the Mercedes pit for this weekend on the Yas Marina Circuit hang two large pictures of Hamilton, one from Hungary in 2013 – his first win for Mercedes – and the second from Silverstone this 12 months, arguably probably the most emotional of his record 104 victories. Above it’s the message: “Every dream needs a team.”

Even the challenges of this 12 months and the problem of a year-long farewell won’t diminish what Hamilton and Mercedes have built together.

“Nothing will take away from us twelve incredible years with eight constructors’ and six drivers’ championships,” said Wolff. “That will be the memory and after next Sunday we will look back on this great time and not on a season or races that were particularly bad.

“The beautiful memories will remain with us.”

Good memories. Historical memories. They are so filled with emotion that they’ll surely come back when the checkered flag falls for Hamilton on Sunday evening and he rises from a Mercedes F1 automobile for the last time.

The athlete

A majority of employees at two Mercedes plants near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, declined the chance to hitch the United Auto Workers union in an election that ended on May 17, 2024.

UAW supporters lost 2,642 to 2,045, Just a month after employees at a Volkswagen factory within the neighboring state of Tennessee voted by a majority of three:1 to hitch the union.

Related to my research on organized labor within the United States and other countries, and from what I learned after I went to Alabama to look at the elections and discuss with Mercedes employees, I consider that the events in Alabama illustrate how tough union organizing is within the South, But it's still too early to write down off the UAW's possibilities within the region.

Public and personal efforts to dam unions

The UAW made eight failed attempts to unionize foreign automotive factories within the south over the past 35 years. That losing streak ended when the corporate won 73% of all votes solid in its historic victory in Tennessee.

My latest book: “The UAW's Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Vehicle Factories“underscores the most important challenges the UAW has long faced within the South.

For 40 years, Southern political and business leaders have tried to draw investment to their states – particularly from foreign-owned manufacturers – by offering massive subsidies, low taxes and lower labor costs and a largely compliant workforce.

This model worked. Today, about 30% of U.S. auto employees are within the South, up from about 15% in 1990.

Whenever the UAW tried to unionize the region's industry, the South's political establishment, dominated by the Republican Party, fought back.

Most recently, six Republican governors from the South combined this tradition into one Joint letter shortly before the Volkswagen vote. In it, they denounced the UAW's organizing efforts as “special interests invading our state and endangering our jobs and the values ​​we live by.”

“Union Avoidance Playbook”

Automotive executives across the American South have developed what I call the “union avoidance playbook.”

This strategy includes They locate factories in rural areas with few union members, eliminate employees who could also be union sympathizers, and divide the workforce by utilizing temporary labor agencies to fill significant portions of jobs.

Messaging is equally vital.

The plants have television monitors in break rooms and cafeterias where pro-business and anti-union messages are spread. To undermine support for unions and business Donate generously to local churches, charities and politicians.

When, despite these efforts, a labor campaign gains momentum, plant managers often start a communication flash This includes mandatory meetings for entire shifts and smaller meetings with undecided employees to keep off against unionization. Union supporters should not given the chance to comment.

The communication strategy lately has included a flood of anti-union emails and text messages Persuading employees to withstand unionization.

Most foreign-owned automakers from the South will likely be hiring anti-union consultants with years of experience fighting unions to guide their efforts. If the selection still looks close, it's the businesses can replace the local CEO of the plant.

This recent hire then tells employees that the corporate now understands their complaints and is asking for a second probability.

Why the UAW convinced Volkswagen employees

The UAW's victory in Tennessee shows that the South's public-private, anti-union partnership will not be invulnerable. Three aspects explain the union's success.

First, the election of Shawn Fain as UAW president in March 2023 marked a turning point. The charismatic one Electrician from Kokomo, Indianawasted no time in dissuading the UAW from its previous agreement with automakers.

Fain used powerful rhetoric and modern tactics to attain victories on the negotiating table in the course of the UAW's simultaneous strikes at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis in the autumn of 2023.

The New contracts followed Employees got significant salary and profit increases and value of living adjustments were made. These agreements also eliminated a two-tier wage structure that gave employees hired since 2007 significantly less pay for a similar work than colleagues with more seniority.

By the tip of 2023, the UAW had shown autoworkers within the South that it could make gains that their employers were unlikely to offer on their very own. This led to more auto employees within the South want to hitch the union.

Second, the UAW overhauled its union system.

The top-down approach was history. Under Fain's leadership, the UAW provided Brian Shepherd – a proven organizer with the Service Employees International Union – will take the lead.

Shepherd gave auto employees who supported unionization the chance to accomplish that Customize organization campaigns as you see fit.

German solidarity

Third, the UAW's relationship with Volkswagen's German works council leadership, which represents employees within the workplace, has improved dramatically.

A works Council is an elected worker representative body that represents the interests of employees at the corporate and company level. It differs from the German Metalworkers' Union, IG Metallwhich has consistently supported unions representing U.S. auto employees.

There were connections between the UAW and the labor council tense in the course of the organizing campaigns in 2014 and 2019. But the The works council leadership modified in 2021.

During the Volkswagen campaign, the German Works Council intervened in several cases to temper management resistance to unionization and urge Chattanooga employees to vote for the union.

The UAW's Mercedes defeat

In previous votes at foreign auto plants within the South, the UAW has typically been the case received only a 3rd of the votes. In Alabama it received 44%. Therefore, it is cheap to see this loss as an indication of progress and strength, even when it fell in need of the bulk.

As I explain in my book, to win an election, a union must assert itself within the political arena and throughout the corporate and workplace.

Mercedes had the overwhelming support of the Alabama political establishment, including Rev. Matthew WilsonTuscaloosa City Council member and Baptist Church pastor.

However, there was a giant difference between the commercial disputes at Mercedes and Volkswagen. The UAW won timely support from the VW works councilthereby convincing management not to rent anti-union consultants, use anti-union language, or hold mandatory meetings.

The Mercedes works council, nevertheless, protested belatedly and didn’t change Mercedes' approach. Mercedes also replaced the local CEO, Michael Göbel Federico Kochlowskiwho promised that the corporate would higher address long-standing worker concerns.

This final flood revealed a weakness within the UAW's employee-led organizational model. It proved difficult for the few organizers to reply quickly and effectively using a network of staff who had little experience with these tactics.

Despite the win in Alabama, Mercedes management could possibly be in trouble in Germany for allegedly unfair tactics.

The The federal government is investigating Whether the corporate's anti-union campaign violates the country's supply chain law, which requires corporations to respect economic, governance and social standards, including labor rights, of their foreign subsidiaries.

Violations may end in a penalty Fine of as much as 2% of total sales.

Separately the UAW has filed a criticism against Mercedes with the National Labor Relations Board over anti-union tactics. The criticism is pending before this federal authoritywhich is chargeable for enforcing the precise of U.S. employees to prepare.

It continues

Gladly promised to proceed organizing efforts when he announced the outcomes at Mercedes. “These workers will get their fair share,” he said. “And we will be there to support them every step of the way.”

It wouldn't surprise me if a majority of employees on the two Mercedes plants in Alabama ultimately resolve to hitch the UAW.

The vote was relatively close. Union initiatives often fail at the primary attempt but succeed later when it becomes clear that management is not going to keep its guarantees to do higher.

If the UAW leadership can persuade the Mercedes works council to pressure management to limit the usage of union avoidance, the prospects for organizing the Alabama plant with a brand new campaign are particularly promising.

I feel the UAW also has an excellent probability of organizing BMW employees in South Carolina.

On the opposite hand, the unionization of employees at Korean and Japanese automotive corporations within the South is more likely to prove to be a greater challenge – also because each countries don’t have any institution comparable to the German works councils.

For the UAW to achieve success throughout the South, I consider it must develop strategies that may overcome the complete repertoire of the region's union-avoiding playbook.

Workers at two Mercedes plants near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will soon vote for the primary time on whether to affix a union.

Until recently, it could have been secure to assume that nearly all of 5,200 individuals are eligible to vote on this election — scheduled for May 13-17, 2024 — would reject that chance to affix the United Auto Workers.

The UAW, which has about 150,000 members employed at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, made eight failed attempts to unionize foreign automotive factories within the south over the past 35 years. Two of those actions aimed to prepare all the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

But when the UAW tried to prepare the VW plant for the third time, it prevailedand won 73% of all votes solid in an election held there in April.

I research organized labor within the United States and other countries. My latest book: “The UAW's Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Vehicle Factories“underscores the foremost challenges that employees and the UAW have long faced in trying to prepare auto factories within the South. In my view, the Chattanooga union has finally succeeded due to its latest leadership and closer collaboration with VW employees in Germany.

A successful model

As I explain in my book, one reason it took the UAW so long to realize its first companywide victory was that an employer's manual for suppressing unionization had worked in response to plan.

The automobile corporations operating within the American South largely had positioned their facilities in rural areas with low union membership. They weeded out employees who may be sympathetic to the unions and divided the workforce by utilizing temporary labor agencies to fill a good portion of positions. She used television monitors throughout the plant to spread pro-business and anti-union messages. And they donated generously to local churches, charities and politicians to undermine local support for union organizing.

At the identical time, political and economic leaders within the South sought to draw investment—particularly from foreign-owned manufacturers—by offering massive subsidies, low taxes, lower labor costs, and a largely compliant workforce.

South Auto employees receives a commission less than their colleagues from the north and have had little influence on what happens of their workplace.

This model was successful. Today, about 30% of U.S. auto employees are within the South, up from about 15% in 1990.

Whenever the UAW has attempted to unionize industry throughout the region, the South's political establishment, dominated by the Republican Party, has pushed back.

Most recently, six GOP governors from the South have rolled this tradition into one Joint letter shortly before the VW vote. In it, they denounced the UAW's organizing efforts as “special interests invading our state and endangering our jobs and the values ​​we live by.”

Strong leadership

The UAW's victory in Tennessee suggests that this model is starting to fail. Three aspects can explain why it might stop working.

First, the election of Shawn Fain as UAW president in March 2023 marked a turning point. The charismatic one Electrician in Kokomo, IndianaMotorTrend recently described it as “Man of the Year“wasted no time attempting to distract the UAW from its previous agreement with automakers.

Fain used powerful rhetoric and progressive tactics to realize victories on the negotiating table in the course of the UAW's simultaneous strikes at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis in the autumn of 2023.

The New contracts followed Employees got significant salary and profit increases and value of living adjustments. These agreements also eliminated a two-tier wage structure that gave employees hired since 2007 significantly less pay for a similar work than colleagues with more seniority.

By the tip of 2023, the UAW had shown autoworkers within the South that it could make gains that their employers were unlikely to supply on their very own. More autoworkers across the region This sparked interest in joining the union.

New organizational approach

Second, the UAW has overhauled its approach to union organizing.

A top-down approach was taken, led by union staff who didn’t necessarily have the most effective organizing skills. Under Fain's leadership, the UAW was hiring Brian Shepherd – a proven organizer with the Service Employees International Union – will take the lead.

Shepherd empowered auto industry employees who supported unionization Customize the organizational motion as they thought best.

For example, committed employees on the Mercedes plant began distributing union identification cards much sooner than the UAW had previously beneficial, and it shunned visiting undecided employees of their homes because they felt the tactic could be counterproductive within the South.

Shepherd hired skilled organizers to support his team and he encouraged the creation of way more structured networks inside plants than the volunteer organizing committees that the UAW had traditionally used.

These changes have paid off. Other employees from the south have signed cards Empowering the UAW as a collective bargaining agent than ever before.

German solidarity

Third, the UAW's relationship with Volkswagen's German works council leadership, which represents employees within the workplace, has improved dramatically. A works Council is an elected worker body anchored in German law that represents the interests of employees at the corporate and company level. It differs from the German Metalworkers' Union, IG Metallwho has at all times supported unionization in German auto plants within the American South.

There were connections between the UAW and the labor council tense in the course of the 2014 and 2019 organizing campaigns. But the The works council leadership modified in 2021.

This time the German works council intervened in several cases to temper VW management's opposition to unionization and urge Chattanooga employees to vote for the UAW.

Harder terrain

Just since the UAW won by a virtually 3-1 margin in Chattanooga doesn't mean a victory at Mercedes in Alabama or elsewhere is a sure thing.

Both the Alabama political establishment and factory management did this fought much harder against this union organizing campaign at Mercedes as Volkswagen executives and Tennessee officials before the vote on the Chattanooga plant.

It has proven difficult to ascertain an in depth relationship between Mercedes' German works council and the UAW. On the opposite hand, a core group of Mercedes Alabama employees has proven to be particularly adept at organizing. They construct a dense network within the factory based on “Wanderers” – i.e. people whose jobs require them to maneuver across the factory.

They also summed up their circumstances in juicy lines which have gone viral. For example, long-time Mercedes worker Jeremy Kimbrell explained: “We will end the Alabama discount“ — a reference to the lower pay they receive in comparison with their counterparts in Michigan and other more established auto manufacturing centers.

Mercedes management in Alabama has also taken plenty of actions which have angered and emboldened employees at that plant. It let the pay stagnate for a few years and resulted in a deeply unpopular Two-tier salary structure in 2020which management solved quickly last 12 months after the UAW's successful strikes.

Mercedes management judged the anti-union campaign to be so bad that they… fired the plant's CEO, Michael Göbeland replaced him with current Vice President of Operations Federico Kochlowski just two weeks before voting began.

Firing an unpopular plant manager is a typical union avoidance tactic, just like firing the top coach of a poorly performing sports team to appease fans. VW did it in 2019.

An final result that’s difficult to predict

The final result of the vote on the Mercedes plant is harder to predict than on the Volkswagen plant because there has never been a union recognition vote at Mercedes before. But one thing is definite: the UAW's organizing campaign isn't over yet.

Fain has repeatedly stated that the UAW intends to do that Get all US auto employees to affix the union – Potentially doubling the variety of its members within the industry.

There are a few dozen other campaigns running that might follow the vote at Mercedes. At least 30% of employees Toyota's engine plant in Missouri And Hyundai's factory in Alabama have already joined the UAW, a vital first step toward a proper election.