Amazon won the anti-union fight: 56 percent of its workers said 'no'

04/09/2021 2:31 PM

• Clarín.com

• Technology

Updated 04/09/2021 2:39 PM

Employees at Amazon's fulfillment center in the US city of Bessemer, Alabama,

overwhelmingly decided not to unionize

, after 56 percent of employees voted against forming a union.

For a union to represent workers in a company, a majority of workers must vote in favor of that representation in an election.

Of the 5,800 Amazon employees in the Bessemer center who were called to the polls, only 3,215 employees turned out to vote.

The final vote count, which lasted for more than a week, ended with 1,798 votes against and 738 in favor.

"Our employees heard many more anti-Amazon messages from the union, politicians and the media than they heard from us. And Amazon did not win: our employees made the decision to vote against joining a union," the commerce giant stressed. email in a statement.

On March 27, workers promoted unionization in the company.

AFP photo

"We are not perfect, but we are proud of our team and what we offer and will continue to work to improve every day," the company wrote.

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union (RWDSU), which was voted on, announced that it will denounce Amazon for unfair labor practices to the United States Labor regulators.

The union force assures that the company "interfered" with the workers' rights to vote "in a free and fair election."

The RWDSU asks that the outcome of the elections be disregarded because Amazon's conduct "created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and / or fear of retaliation."

Amazon is the second largest employer in the United States, behind Walmart, but its workers are not represented by any union.

These union elections were the first the company has faced in more than seven years, since workers at one of its Delaware warehouses also voted against unionizing in 2014.

In recent months there was a strong anti-union campaign from Amazon.

Reuters photo

Why organizing at Amazon got the spotlight

For two months, employees at an Alabama warehouse voted whether or not they wanted to organize into a union, and the scrutiny took several days.

It was

a long and disputed process

because the validity of each vote was analyzed individually by the company and the workers.

"Like most American employers,

Amazon wants to keep its power over everything

, and make sure workers can't negotiate anything," said Rebecca Givan, professor of social relations at Rutgers University.

According to her, the Seattle group was destined to make "almost unlimited expenses", to "demonstrate that any attempt to organize is doomed to failure and to discourage other employees."

Judging by the results, it was an effective strategy.

Amazon's distribution center in Alabama.

Reuters photo

But Amazon didn't just have naysayers at Bessemer.

His arrival a year ago was hailed as a pull factor and "the largest investment project in city history" for its mayor, Kenneth Gulley.

"If all this negativity and horrible stories were true, it would mean that there are

5,800 idiots working in the building

. And I don't work with any idiots, nor am I an idiot," said Dawn Hoag, 43-year-old warehouse quality manager. .

These words were reflected in the results of this Friday.

For her, her colleagues did not need representatives to make themselves heard and she shows her pride in having lost about 50 kilos, thanks especially to the miles she walks every day in the warehouse.

Darryl Richardson, the employee at the origin of the movement, also lost weight in recent months, but as a result of fatigue and stress.

"My body is not going to hold (at this rate)," said the 51-year-old African-American.

"They

ask me why I'm not looking for another job. Easier said than done!

I'm too old, I don't have a good image. It's time to fight."

His message at RWDSU last summer had already inspired many others, Joshua Brewer stressed.

"We received more than 1,000 requests from around fifty different warehouses."

Unfortunately for them, the collective effort was unsuccessful.

The centers are called "fulfillment centers": there are the products that the company sells.

AFP photo

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