In a stunning rebuke to organized labor, workers at an Amazon Fulfilment Center in Bessemer, Alabama voted down joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, as announced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) late Friday.
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The vote, widely thought to have ramifications not only for Amazon but for organized labor generally, was being closely watched by both pro-labor and pro-business forces.
It wasn’t even close.
The preliminary vote count was 71% to 29% against unionization. 55% of the over 5,800 eligible employees mailed in their votes, a larger turnout than the union predicted. A mail ballot system was used due to COVID-19 concerns that ran for nearly two months through March 29, giving workers plenty time to consider their choice.
The mail ballot process and extended voting window were widely thought to favor the union. Apparently not, it turns out.
The NLRB still has certify the results, but said that there aren’t enough challenged ballots to overturn the vote.
There are no union facilities in Amazon’s massive US network of FCs, sorting and delivery stations, and other sites, though some of its FCs in Europe are organized
Many believed union success in Bessemer would quickly lead to union votes in dozens of other Amazon facilities.
During the vote, union president Stuart Appelbaum commented that “Amazon has 800 warehouses in the United States, so the fight is just beginning.”
Now, labor has to do some real soul searching to do to figure out what went badly wrong in Bessemer, clearly now no longer a touch point for organizing not only other Amazon FCs but distribution operations at Walmart, Target and other large retailers, as was seen as quite possible.
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In a sign of how important the Bessemer vote was, even President Biden got involved, releasing a video telling those Amazon workers that “your health, your safety, higher wages” were on the line in the vote.
The vote even drew support from some conservatives, with Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida writing an op-ed column in USA Today siding the workers, saying Amazon had been a foe of “working-class values.” (See Surprisingly, Republican Senator Marco Rubio Announces Support for Amazon Workers Unionizing in Alabama.)
“The union plans to challenge Amazon’s conduct in an appeal to the NLRB, but that sounds like an excuse for a humiliating defeat,” the Wall Street Journal said on the vote.
The main line of challenge now for the union is Amazon’s request that the US Postal Service install a mailbox outside the FC, letting employees cast ballots on-site in the all-mail election. Appelbaum says in-person voting “provided a clear ability to intimidate workers.”
However, the vote was a secret ballot with sealed envelopes, and employees faced no pressure from Amazon to cast their votes at the workplace.
“The union problem in Bessemer is that workers don’t like what the union is selling,” the Wall Street Journal editorial added.
Some sources say this is hardly the end for labor forces at Amazon.
“Even if no warehouse workers try to organize in the near future, the scrutiny on working conditions at Amazon is likely to get even more intense,” the CNet.com web site commented after the vote.
In a news conference Amazon organized Friday, some workers who sided against unionizing said they still sought changes at the facility, such as added training for managers. However, the workers said, they believed they could resolve issues with the company without a third party.
Why did Amazon workers say no to the union? What will be the larger impact? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback section below.
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