Peter Endig | AFP | Getty Images
Amazon lost its bid to delay a closely watched union vote at its warehouse in Bessemer, Ala..
Last month, Amazon appealed the decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to allow approximately 6,000 warehouse workers to vote by mail on whether or not to join the retail, wholesale and department store union. In its appeal, Amazon asked NLRB to review aspects of its earlier decision and pushed for a personal election, citing shortcomings in the agency’s definition of what a coronavirus outbreak is.
On Friday, the NLRB dismissed Amazon’s appeal, saying it “did not raise substantial issues warranting review.”
“The employer’s motion to keep the election pending review is also dismissed as moot,” said one filing.
By rejecting Amazon’s appeal, NLRB is allowing Amazon employees in the Alabama warehouse to begin voting by mail from next week, as planned. The workers will cast their ballots from February 8th. The ballots must be received by the NLRB regional office on March 29, after which the board will start counting the ballots the next day at 10.00 a.m. CT.
The decision marks the start of what will be the first major union effort within Amazon since 2014, when repair technicians in a Delaware warehouse were unable to garner enough votes to form a union. Since then, protests related to Prime Day and other events, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, have laid the groundwork for increasing organizational efforts among some sections of the workforce across the country.
The Alabama union action has emerged as a protracted labor battle at Amazon, with the company hiring the same law firm that it used to assist in the negotiations during the 2014 Delaware union campaign.
Amazon has also set up a website to promote its position on the Alabama warehouse union’s action, urging workers to “do it for free,” referring to the cost of membership when they join a trade union. In recent weeks, it has ramped up communication with employees at Bessemer’s warehouse about the union known as BHM1, including by holding mandatory meetings, handing out flyers throughout the building and sending text messages.
In a statement, RWDSU President Stuart Applebaum announced the NLRB’s decision as a victory in the struggle of the Amazon workers to organize and criticized Amazon’s push to hold a personal election as a threat to their health and safety during the pandemic.
“Again, Amazon workers have won another battle in their bid to win a union vote,” Applebaum said in a statement. “Today’s decision proves that it has been a long time since Amazon has begun to respect its own employees and allow them to vote without intimidation and interference.”
Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.