Union organizers hope to sway Amazon warehouse workers after suffering significant defeats in Alabama and New York City.
Outside Bessemer, AL, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union gained enough signatures to successfully petition for a vote in 2021. But when election day arrived, Amazon employees overwhelmingly voted against joining a union. Amazon pays more than $15 per hour, double the state’s minimum wage. The tally was tabulated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) representatives to the tune of 1,798 voting against and only 738 in favor of unionizing. Following the 2-to-1 defeat, union officials filed grievances.
“The big sort of takeaway from that first experience in Bessemer was, yes, there was a lot of attention and excitement, and this thought that if this worked, it would be this massive victory for labor, and ultimately it wasn’t successful,” Molly Kinder, a pro-union fellow at the Brookings Institution, reportedly said. “It sort of revealed the David versus Goliath nature of our labor laws.”
Union officials filed for a do-over and Amazon workers began sending in ballots on Friday, Feb. 4. The NLRB is expected to oversee the count again.
At an Amazon fulfillment center on New York City’s Staten Island, union organizers fared even worse last year. Upstart Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizers filed for a vote after believing they gathered the 30 percent required by the NLRB. The outfit failed to account for workers in peripheral positions and included gig workers. After the signatures were counted, union leaders were forced to withdraw their petition.
But wide-reaching union grievances against the e-commerce giant prompted decision-makers to settle disputes out of court. The agreement between the NLRB and Amazon should make it easier for unions to advocate.
“Whether a company has 10 employees or a million employees, it must abide by the National Labor Relations Act,” NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo reportedly stated. “This settlement agreement provides a crucial commitment from Amazon to millions of its workers across the United States that it will not interfere with their right to act collectively to improve their workplace by forming a union or taking other collective action.”
Union experts have called the settlement unprecedented and a rare opportunity for union officials to have unfettered, onsite access to employees. The Amazon Labor Union hopes to get a second bit in the Big Apple after refiling another petition with the NLRB.
“We’re skeptical that there are a sufficient number of legitimate signatures, and we’re seeking to understand how these signatures were verified,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel reportedly said. “Our employees have always had a choice of whether or not to join a union, and as we saw just a few months ago, the vast majority of our team in Staten Island did not support the ALU.”
Unionization efforts in New York are reportedly driven by former Amazon employee Christian Smalls. Claiming he was unduly fired after attempting to organize at Amazon’s massive fulfillment center, a judge recently dismissed a civil lawsuit brought by Smalls. The union effort has not necessarily garnered national support from pro-union icons.
Sources: foxbusiness.com, abcnews.com, npr.org, cnbc.com, reuters.com, silive.com
Leave a Comment