Amazon: union formation failed in Alabama

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Union officials outside Amazon warehouse in Alabama

Photo: Jay Reeves / AP

It was a symbolic step: For the first time, employees at the online mail order company Amazon tried to form a union representation.

But the project failed: in the live broadcast of the vote count, the no-camp achieved the majority.

Amazon is strictly against the establishment of employee representatives.

The campaign to mobilize the vote was vigorous on both sides and attracted international attention.

Of the more than 5,800 employees at the logistics center, 3,215 ultimately voted.

In the ongoing vote count, the no-camp exceeded the majority threshold of 1608 votes.

At this point in time, there were only a little more than 600 yes-votes.

The initiative of the retail trade union RWDSU had sparked a nationwide debate about working conditions at the mail order company with its 800,000 employees in the USA.

Unions and politicians have long complained that employees at Amazon are exposed to high work pressure and permanent control.

Amazon itself took decisive action against the plans.

In the logistics center in Bessemer, management spoke out against unions at conferences and even on flyers in the toilets.

She also set up a website where she argues why a union is unnecessary.

The internet giant argues that it pays above-average wages and grants.

The group had recently profited massively from closed shops in the wake of the corona lockdowns worldwide, as business shifted all the more to the Internet.

Amazon's sales increased by 38 percent to around $ 386 billion last year, and profits doubled year-on-year to more than $ 21 billion.

mic / AFP