AMZN
Appeal likely to follow Amazon unionization vote in Alabama
- The first major unionization drive at an Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)
warehouse in the U.S. looks set to fail as results continue to be
tallied at a fulfillment center located in Bessemer, Alabama. With about
half the 3,215 ballots counted so far by the National Labor Relations
Board, about 70% of Amazon employees at BHM1 have sided against
unionization, which is well ahead of estimates that forecast somewhat of
a
close race. Officials will resume counting today, when a final outcome
could become clear.
- *Bigger picture:* Over the past few weeks, Amazon has pulled out all
the stops to try and convince the workers at BHM1 that unionization would
not be in their favor. It seems like the efforts paid off, which included
aggressive advertising, mandatory anti-union meetings and sending workers
multiple texts per day. Not only did Amazon attract new workers to vote
against the effort, but it also appears to have changed the mindset of
workers who were planning to back the union, based on the early signs of
support needed to trigger the vote in the first place.
- Once the results have been formally certified by the National Labor
Relations Board, there will likely be an appeal from The Retail,
Wholesale
and Department Store Union. The RWDSU is already saying that some of
Amazon's tactics against the union were illegal. For example, a dropbox
that was placed in the parking lot of the facility could have intimidated
workers into thinking that Amazon was monitoring the vote and was a
direct
effort to influence the ballot. Others have pointed to Amazon's push to
have the county change the timing of a traffic light leaving the
warehouse parking lot, which the company says was meant to alleviate
congestion, though union organizers say it deprived them of a venue for
canvassing workers.
- *What's next?* Some labor experts think the union has a pretty strong
case, with local regulators having the power to overturn the vote
entirely
and grant the union a victory. If that would happen, the case could go to
Washington, where Amazon could appeal on a national level to the NLRB.
Don't expect an easy outcome. The entire process could take another few
months.
- Earlier this week, the *NYT* reported that Amazon could face a
national labor probe after the NLRB found it illegally fired two UX
designers for publicly pushing for the company to address warehouse
worker concerns.
|Today, 3:34 AM|24 Comments
Appeal likely to follow Amazon unionization vote in Alabama
- The first major unionization drive at an Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)
warehouse in the U.S. looks set to fail as results continue to be
tallied at a fulfillment center located in Bessemer, Alabama. With about
half the 3,215 ballots counted so far by the National Labor Relations
Board, about 70% of Amazon employees at BHM1 have sided against
unionization, which is well ahead of estimates that forecast somewhat of
a
close race. Officials will resume counting today, when a final outcome
could become clear.
- *Bigger picture:* Over the past few weeks, Amazon has pulled out all
the stops to try and convince the workers at BHM1 that unionization would
not be in their favor. It seems like the efforts paid off, which included
aggressive advertising, mandatory anti-union meetings and sending workers
multiple texts per day. Not only did Amazon attract new workers to vote
against the effort, but it also appears to have changed the mindset of
workers who were planning to back the union, based on the early signs of
support needed to trigger the vote in the first place.
- Once the results have been formally certified by the National Labor
Relations Board, there will likely be an appeal from The Retail,
Wholesale
and Department Store Union. The RWDSU is already saying that some of
Amazon's tactics against the union were illegal. For example, a dropbox
that was placed in the parking lot of the facility could have intimidated
workers into thinking that Amazon was monitoring the vote and was a
direct
effort to influence the ballot. Others have pointed to Amazon's push to
have the county change the timing of a traffic light leaving the
warehouse parking lot, which the company says was meant to alleviate
congestion, though union organizers say it deprived them of a venue for
canvassing workers.
- *What's next?* Some labor experts think the union has a pretty strong
case, with local regulators having the power to overturn the vote
entirely
and grant the union a victory. If that would happen, the case could go to
Washington, where Amazon could appeal on a national level to the NLRB.
Don't expect an easy outcome. The entire process could take another few
months.
- Earlier this week, the *NYT* reported that Amazon could face a
national labor probe after the NLRB found it illegally fired two UX
designers for publicly pushing for the company to address warehouse
worker concerns.
|Today, 3:34 AM|24 Comments
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