The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied a series of motions from Amazon that sought to delay the union’s election at a company warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. Warehouse employees are expected to start voting on joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) on Monday, February 8.
Amazon had filed two motions to delay the process, including an effort to force a personal vote, despite ongoing pandemic risks. Both motions were denied by the NLRB.
“Once again, Amazon workers won another fight in their effort to win the voice of the union,” said RWDSU in a statement. “Today’s decision proves that it’s past time for Amazon to start respecting its own employees; and allow them to vote without intimidation and interference. “
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amazon has had a difficult response to union efforts at its warehouses. In 2020, Amazon coordinated efforts to publicly demote an employee organizer in a Staten Island warehouse – notes from a coordination meeting were later obtained by Vice News. Later that year, reporters caught the company recruiting analysts to monitor “threats to the organization of work”. The list was removed shortly after.
Many of Amazon’s European call centers are organized; workers in Germany went on strike last June over allegedly inadequate protections against the coronavirus.