This work was recognized by several well-known personalities, including President Joe Biden and other unions.
Organizers and workers are making the final decision in the first Amazon warehouse union election in Bessemer, Alabama. If the election is successful, it will mark one of the biggest labor victories in the United States in the past few decades.
The struggle to form a union in this lucrative technology and retail giant has sparked huge political interest and pushed labor rights to the front page of the United States. Especially during the coronavirus pandemic, warehouse workers in online retail have become a must. Indispensable labor.
Workers’ votes must be delivered to the National Bureau of Labor Relations Regional Office in Alabama before March 29 to be counted. Most votes determine the outcome of the election, and approximately 5,800 employees are eligible to vote.
An election vote was held on February 8. The National Labor Relations Commission rejected Amazon’s attempts to postpone the vote and conduct face-to-face elections.
The union’s efforts have been recognized by some celebrities, including a video tape released by President Joe Biden, which claims that he supports the right of workers to organize unions, Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican Senator Marco Rubio, etc. Recognition by members of Congress, as well as other unions. As a member of the National Football League (NFL) Players Association, Major League Baseball (MLB) Players Association, Black Lives Matter and several local organizations have given strong support.
Picker Darryl Richardson joined the retail, wholesale and department store unions last year and began the organization of the union. He emphasized that the extensive support for union work has greatly helped the union.
“This is very different, because many of our employees don’t understand or don’t understand what unions or unions can bring to the company. With the support of everyone around the world, it does change people’s perceptions of how to vote.” Richardson Say. “Your employees don’t know anything about it and they are confused about it. They intend to vote yes to’No’, but now the seats are over and many people come in and say they will vote yes to’Yes’.”
The unionization efforts in Alabama have expanded extensive discussions about Amazon’s role in growing wealth and income inequality in the United States and in racial justice issues that have been further exposed during the coronavirus pandemic. Union organizers estimate that 85% of workers in warehouses in Alabama are black. Among Amazon’s workers in the United States, blacks account for 27%.
On March 17, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on the income and wealth inequality crisis in the United States. Bessemer Amazon warehouse worker Jennifer Bates pointed out in testimony: “We workers Made billions of dollars for Amazon. I often say that we are billionaires-we just don’t spend money.”
According to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, Amazon’s profits have increased by $9.4 billion over 2019, and the net worth of Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has increased. Nearly 68 billion U.S. dollars. The report pointed out that the hazard pay that Amazon may provide to workers during the pandemic has increased fivefold, but it still exceeds 2019 profits.
Sara Nelson, International Chairman of the Flight Attendants Association (CWA), was one of several well-known visitors who participated in the Bessemer union organization base through union elections. She pointed out that the Amazon union election held in Alabama has broader implications for the entire American labor movement and the dignity of workers.
Nelson said: “They set the eyes of the whole world on Bessemer, Alabama, and are very proud of it.” “They opened a new era of organization. Whether they won the vote in this election or not. If they don’t win, they have won the victory because they have integrated into the consciousness of the staff everywhere. They feel that they don’t respect anyone in life and work and are unhappy. Where they are, they don’t have to take over. Actually They have a way to fight back.”
Amazon has been firmly opposed to the establishment of a union in the United States for many years. Although it has not yet faced organizational efforts on the scale of the Bessemer warehouse, Amazon has successfully suppressed previous attempts to establish a union in the United States.
Richardson and other Amazon workers who work in union organizations have been fighting an active anti-union movement by Amazon for months.
Amazon spends nearly $10,000 a day plus the cost of anti-union consultants for union elections, because workers face regular captive hearings to encourage workers to vote against the union, and union text messages, advertisements, flyers, and posters are flooded around the warehouse. And launched an anti-union website. Recently, during the election period, USPS mailboxes were installed in the warehouse and instructions were sent to workers on how to vote against the union.
In a report released by the Economic Policy Institute in December 2019, it was found that employers were accused of violating federal laws in more than 54% of large electoral unit union elections. U.S. employers specialize in avoiding union work each year. Approximately US$340 million was spent on consultants.
Amazon’s anti-union arguments often cite the company’s $15 minimum wage and claim that the company has provided everything the union will provide, while emphasizing the union’s due fees. A recent report by The New York Times stated that Amazon’s starting salary is $15 an hour, which is about $3 lower than the median salary in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and the salary of workers in a nearby warehouse with union workers. higher.
“I really think we will win,” Richardson added. “If the union joins, power will be divided and people will have a voice. You will have a representative on your behalf to ensure that you will not be fired, because they will ensure that you are treated fairly, that you work in a safe environment and that promotion is fair The union can make a difference.”