The final count among Mercedes-Benz factory workers was 2,045 in favor and 2,642 against, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

Republican officials led a vigorous campaign opposing the organizing effort. In the run-up to Friday’s vote, six Southern governors, all Republicans, led by Alabama’s Kay Ivey, warned about “special interests looking to come into our state and threaten our jobs and the values we live by.”

Alabama state lawmakers also passed a measure to deny state funding to companies that voluntarily recognize unions. The Republican speaker of the state’s House of Representatives, Nathaniel Ledbetter, has referred to the UAW as “a dangerous leech.”