Union supporters narrowly follow opponents in a union election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, the National Labor Relations Board said Thursday. But the count was much closer than a vote at the same warehouse last year, when workers rejected the union by a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
The union had 875 yes votes versus 993 no votes, but the more than 400 contested ballots are enough to potentially influence the outcome. The challenges will be resolved at a labor council hearing in the coming weeks.
In total, approximately 2,300 votes were cast in the election in Bessemer, Ala., out of more than 6,100 eligible employees.
The labor council ordered the re-vote, which was conducted by mail from early February to late March, after it concluded that Amazon violated so-called lab conditions that would apply during union elections.
“Regardless of the end result, the workers here have shown what is possible,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which tried to organize the workers. “They helped start a movement.”
During a video conference with reporters after the vote count, Mr. Appelbaum that the Bessemer organization has helped fuel union campaigns at other companies, such as REI and Starbucks, and in other parts of the country.
Amazon has not responded to a request for comment.
The labor council is also counting the votes in another high-profile election, at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island. At the end of the first counting day on Thursday, 57 percent of the supported ballots were represented by Amazon Labor Union, and 43 percent were against. The NLRB said the count should be completed by Friday.
Workers who supported the union in Bessemer cited frustrations over low wages, inadequate breaks and overly aggressive productivity targets. Amazon has said its pay — just under $16 an hour for full-time, entry-level workers — is competitive for the area. It has also pointed to a benefits package it says is attractive, including full health benefits for full-time employees once they join the company. The company has said its performance targets reflect safety considerations and the experience of individual employees.
Several workers who supported the union said colleagues were generally less afraid of questioning management or expressing their union support this year than during last year’s elections. “People are asking more questions,” Jennifer Bates, an employee who helped organize the organization both last year and this year, said in an interview this month. “More employees are standing up and speaking out.”
The union also cited significant differences in its approach to the more recent elections. Last year, the union curtailed personal organizational efforts amid concerns over Covid-19 safety, but this time organizers visited workers at home. Other unions sent organizers to Alabama to aid in these efforts.
Employees were also found to be more active in organizing within the factory. They wore union T-shirts twice a week to show their support, and a group handed over a petition to executives with more than 100 signatures complaining about inadequate breaks and equipment for the cafeteria.
Still, Amazon maintained benefits, not least the high turnover of staff, which made it difficult for organizers to maintain momentum as disgruntled employees simply left their jobs.
The company also appeared to be generous in its efforts to discourage workers from supporting the union, hiring consultants and holding more than 20 anti-union meetings with employees a day before the ballots went out in early February. In a Labor Department filing released Thursday, Amazon revealed it spent more than $4 million on labor consultants last year. It is not yet known how much it has spent on consultants this year.
Union supporters accused Amazon of barring them from meetings to mute criticism and pushback, but Amazon denied the charge.
The count announced on Thursday reflected a broader trend in re-elections, with more than half of unions having lost since 2010.
