Amazon Continues to Interfere With Union Election at Alabama Warehouse, Say Workers

Amazon had swung the Alabama union vote in its favour in April 2021 but re-election was ordered over its interference.

Updated: 23 February 2022 10:43 IST

Amazon Continues to Interfere With Union Election at Alabama Warehouse, Say Workers

The closely-watched campaign comes as Amazon faces a similar vote in March at a facility in Staten Island

Highlights

Amazon easily prevailed in an April 2021 vote at the facility
NLRB mailed out ballots to workers earlier this month
An Amazon spokesperson said the company had not yet seen the filing

A labor group seeking to unionise Amazon workers in Alabama accused the retail giant Tuesday of "unfair labour practices" over its comportment during the vote.

Organisers of the unionisation campaign in Bessemer, Alabama, said in a press release Amazon's actions amounted to a "continuance of the company's conduct aimed at interfering with the right of employees to organise."

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mailed out ballots to workers earlier this month and said it will begin counting them on March 28.

Amazon Defies Break-Up Wave Sweeping Conglomerates

Amazon easily prevailed in an April 2021 vote at the facility, but the NLRB last fall ordered a new election after ruling the company had violated rules during the vote.

The closely-watched campaign comes as Amazon faces a similar vote in March at a facility in Staten Island, New York.

Among the charges listed Tuesday are allegations that Amazon removed pro-union literature from break rooms and required employees to attend meetings where they were subjected to "anti-union propaganda," the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said.

Amazon, Reliance Set to Lock Horns With Disney, Sony Over IPL Rights

Because the meetings are mandatory, they violate workers' right to "refrain" from such activities, the union said.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company had not yet seen the filing but "we're confident that our teams have fully complied with the law," adding, "Our focus remains on working directly with our team to make Amazon a great place to work."

Can Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro+ win their respective segments? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.