For the second time, a Union trying to organize workers at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, challenged the tech giant’s pre election behavior. The union is seeking a hearing to determine whether the election results should be shelved again.
The retail, wholesale and Department Store Union (rwdsu) raised objections to the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday. Amazon “interfered with the right of its employees to vote in free and fair elections – a right protected by Article 7 of the National Labor Relations Act,” the company said in a press release
In last week’s election, Amazon employees voted 993 to 875 against joining the union. However, 416 votes were questioned. Since this figure is enough to affect the result, NLRB will hold a hearing to decide whether any questioned votes should be opened and counted.
This is the second time in a year that trade unions have failed in Bessemer. Last April, employees voted 1798 to 738 against joining the rwdsu of the warehouse facility bhm1.
Before calling for a second election, NLRB said it found that Amazon “interfered with employees’ free and reasonable choice by creating irregularities in the election process.” NLRB said that a mailbox was installed outside Amazon’s main entrance, and employees were improperly asked about their support for the Union during mandatory meetings.
In August, an NLRB hearing official ruled that Amazon exceeded the allowed guidelines and put undue pressure on Bessemer warehouse workers to prohibit them from joining the Warehouse Union. The official proposed a new election in a report.
Once again, union officials are dissatisfied with Amazon’s behavior in the whole process.
Stuart Appelbaum, President of rwdsu, said in a statement: “Amazon’s employees have experienced an unnecessary long and fierce struggle to form a trade union. Amazon makes every effort to spread misinformation and deception.”. “There is no doubt that Amazon violated the law in the first election and again in this re-election. We will continue to hold Amazon accountable and ensure that employees’ voices are heard.”
Rwdsu stated that the possibility of re-election may depend on whether the regional director of NLRB agrees to shelve the election results because “the employer’s behavior creates an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and / or fear of retaliation, which interferes with employees’ freedom of choice.”.
Rwdsu has requested a hearing to state its objections, as detailed in the document at the end of this document.
So far, Bessemer’s election results and controversy have lagged behind the historic Union victory on Staten Island, New York, where workers at another fulfillment center voted to join the Amazon Union. This result brought a landmark victory to the labor movement and a setback to the technology giant. Over the years, the company has successfully resisted organized labor in its domestic business.
Amazon said last week that it might raise its own objections to the results in New York.
“We are disappointed with the election results on Staten Island because we believe that building a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees,” Amazon said in a statement. “We are evaluating our options, including challenging the inappropriate and undue influence of NLRB that we and others, including the National Retail Federation and the American Chamber of Commerce, have witnessed in this election.”