Union seeking to represent Amazon workers in AL says 3,215 ballots were cast; half of ballots have been counted, votes against unionization have 2-1 advantage
With about half the ballots counted late Thursday, votes against unionization had a more than 2-to-1 advantage over those in favor …
New York Times
Context & Ripple Effects
The Alabama vote followed an NLRB-approved election covering roughly 1,500 Amazon warehouse employees and a monthslong campaign that ended with ballot counting under NLRB oversight. The interim count’s margin mattered because it left organizers needing a substantial reversal in the uncounted ballots.
That reversal did not materialize: the subsequent tally recorded 1,798 votes against and 738 for unionization. A later Bessemer vote cycle also began with union officials saying nearly half of eligible workers were new, underscoring how quickly the electorate could change.
First-order effects
The anti-union lead put Amazon close to defeating the organizing drive while sharply narrowing the union’s route to a win in the remaining count.
The completed count confirmed Amazon would not face union representation from this election.
Second-order effects
Organizers had to pursue a renewed Bessemer election with an electorate altered by workforce turnover, rather than build directly on the original campaign’s voter base.
Amazon’s Alabama warehouse remained nonunion after the vote, preserving the company’s existing workplace-representation arrangement there.
Third-order effects
High turnover can make warehouse organizing a repeated-election effort: unions must continually rebuild worker support as eligible voter rolls change.
The Bessemer sequence points to labor representation at large warehouses being shaped as much by the stability of the workforce as by the outcome of a single campaign.
The trend: Amazon’s Alabama elections illustrate how sustained organizing at high-turnover warehouses can require repeated campaigns rather than a one-time vote.
Emails obtained through FOIA show Amazon pressed Postal Service for mailbox at Bessemer warehouse, a move the union fighting to represent warehouse workers believes violates labor law https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
“With about half the ballots counted late Thursday, votes against unionization had a more than 2-to-1 advantage over those in favor. When the counting paused, there were 1,100 votes against unionization and 463 in support.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
NLRB about to get started counting ballots in the Amazon union vote. Going over the rules and etc now. Amazon, RWDSU observers, and a whole lot of media and gawkers tuning in to one big Zoom call.
@danprimack Bloomberg Law article in October said turnout was 69% for private sector mail-in elections up to that point in 2020. But do wonder if high Amazon worker turnover plays a role
Amazon currently lapping the union 2 to 1 in Bessemer. A legal battle will ensue if Amzn wins - did they bully workers into voting ‘no’? But the simplest explanation is that employees value their jobs and didn't see how the RWDSU would improve their lot.
Few things on the Amazon vote: 1) When was the last time (ever?) that the Times had a live vote counter on a union election? 2) Amazon is challenging hundreds of votes and so the final tally is likely to be much much closer than this https://www.nytimes.com/...
Update on that sketchy mailbox Amazon had installed in front of its Bessemer warehouse during the @BAmazonUnion mail-in election: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
“Emails among U.S. Postal Service employees in January and February show that Amazon pressed to install a mailbox outside its Bessemer, Ala., warehouse, revelations the union battling to organize workers there say violate labor laws.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... @greene h…
After the NLRB denied Amazon's request for a dropbox on the warehouse property, Amazon went ahead and requested it anyway. “They did this because it provided a clear ability to intimidate workers” -@sappelbaum #UnionBustingIsDisgusting #BAmazonUnion https://www.washingtonpost.com…
Amazon told The Washington Post it wasn't their idea to put a mailbox outside the Bessemer warehouse to collect union ballots. New reporting shows Amazon lied. @NLRB denied their request for a mailbox, but they pressured USPS to install it anyway. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ …
Good get by Jay. Expect the union to challenge the outcome if it doesn't win election. Actually, can likely expect a challenge by the losing party either way. https://twitter.com/...