More than two years since Amazon workers had an unsuccessful unionization vote in Bessemer, Ala. for the second time , the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is hosting a new hearing that will determine whether the employees could get a third crack at voting.
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Late last week, the NLRB, Amazon and the union seeking to represent the company’s employees, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union ( RWDSU ), turned in court-ordered subpoenas ahead of the hearing, which is set to start Monday.
The results of the first union election at the Bessemer “BHM1” facility in April 2021 were set aside after the NLRB ruled that Amazon interfered in the voting process, namely by placing a mailbox for ballots in an Amazon-branded tent in a surveilled parking lot near the warehouse. With the results null and void, NLRB ruled that a second election could take place.
In that election, held in March 2022, employees voted against unionization again by a vote of 933 to 875. But 416 ballots were contested by both Amazon and the RWDSU.
Both RWDSU and Amazon filed objections to the election, some of which overlap with unfair labor practice charges. NLRB’s Atlanta-based regional director advanced 14 of the union’s 21 objections, as well as seven of eight objections from Amazon.
An administrative law judge would only review 311 ballots that are still uncounted if the second election is considered valid, and a third election was denied, which would facilitate another objection from the RWDSU.
If the judge upholds an objection or finds that an unfair labor practice tainted the election, the results of the second election could be set aside if the judge recommends that decision be made.
“Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have,” said Mary Kate Paradis, a spokesperson at Amazon. “Our team at BHM1 has already made their choice clear, twice—the RWDSU should respect their voices. We look forward to defending this position as the legal process continues.”
The RWDSU would not comment on the hearing.
The hearing will resume on Monday in Birmingham, Ala., and will continue through Thursday. Additional witness testimony will resume from May 13-17, and again from July 8-12, if necessary.
The NLRB has three open representation union election cases involving Amazon, including the back-and-forth in Bessemer, as well as separate cases related to the Staten Island, N.Y. “JFK8” warehouse that won unionization in 2022 , and another facility in Castleton-on-Hudson, N.Y.
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Amazon has continued to contest the Staten Island unionization vote and still hasn’t recognized the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), while the union has filed objections of its own after workers in Castleton-on-Hudson voted against organizing.
Monday’s hearing will also cover an order by a Buffalo-based regional director issued last year related to the Castleton-on-Hudson vote. It alleges that Amazon had violated labor laws, including by interrogating, surveilling and threatening pro-union workers, plus setting “overly broad” restrictions on workers’ access to the warehouse in their off hours. Amazon has denied any such union-busting activities .
Amazon fired back against the NLRB earlier this year, arguing in a court filing that the agency is unconstitutional. In particular, the e-commerce giant said the board’s structure violates the Constitution, because its administrative law judges are insulated from presidential oversight, while board members were insulated from removal by the president “except for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance of office.”
U.K. labor group slams ‘American anti-union campaign’
Amazon is also fighting anti-unionization allegations in the U.K., where workers at one warehouse in Coventry, England recently won the right to vote for unionization with the GMB.
On Friday, the GMB union said it has taken legal action against Amazon with an inducement claim, accusing the retail giant of employing coercive tactics to discourage workers from unionizing.
“This is a company out of control. Amazon is a multi-billion-pound corporation, doing everything in its power to stop minimum wage workers from forming a union,” said Amanda Gearing, a senior organizer, GMB, in a statement. “Their latest American anti-union campaign proves they will stop at nothing to beat the rules that every other employer in the U.K. is expected to follow. It’s desperate measures and goes someway to show why Amazon workers as so determined to win the union recognition they deserve.”
GMB is claiming that Amazon pressured staff to leave the union, with managers putting up QR codes in fulfillment centers that when scanned, would generate an email to the union’s membership department requesting the cancellation of the membership.
Among other claims, workers say they were forced to attend anti-union seminars, and also accused the company of displaying anti-union messages throughout the workplace, including on billboards and screens. The claims also say management bullied and intimidated union representatives among Amazon staff, but didn’t specify the allegations.
The Coventry unionization vote is likely to take place within weeks.
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