President biden
Joe BidenNoem praises the response to the South Dakota coronavirus, breaks down blockages in the CPAC On The Trail speech: Cuomo and Newsom – a story of two governors in trouble Biden celebrates approval of the vaccine, but warns that ‘current improvement may reverse’ MOST offered its support on Sunday to union organizing efforts, while Amazon workers in an Alabama warehouse voted on union membership.
In a video posted on Twitter, the president told workers “in Alabama and across America” that they are considering joining a union that faces a “vitally important choice”.
He did not mention Amazon directly, but his video statement came after nearly 6,000 warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, began voting earlier this month over the option to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU ). If approved, the union would become the first in Amazon’s US operations.
“I made it clear when I was running that my government’s policy would be to support the organization of unions and the right to collective bargaining,” said Biden. “I’m keeping that promise.”
“So, let me be very clear: it is not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union,” he added. “But let me be even clearer: it is not up to the employer to decide that either. The choice of joining a union is made by the workers – period. “
Biden went on to say that workers should not face intimidation, coercion, threats, anti-union propaganda or questions from supervisors about their decision.
Workers in Alabama – and across America – are voting on whether to organize a union at their workplace. It is a vitally important choice – one that must be made without intimidation or threats from employers.
Every worker must have a free and fair choice to join a union. pic.twitter.com/2lzbyyii1g
– President Biden (@POTUS) March 1, 2021
The ballots for the unionization vote were sent to Bessemer’s warehouse workers earlier this month and must be returned to the National Labor Relations Board regional office by March 29, CNBC reported.
The Bessemer facility opened in March 2020, but its workers soon raised concerns about job quotas, low wages and concerns about COVID-19’s lack of protection – issues that were raised by officials in other locations in the Amazon.
Alabama warehouse workers began to quietly organize in July, before the RWDSU officially filed a petition in November.
Amazon did not immediately return The Hill’s request for comment. But a spokesman previously told The Hill that the union does not represent “most of the opinions of our employees”, although he highlighted the company’s starting salary of $ 15.30.
The online retailer reportedly campaigned against unionization through a website and pamphlets encouraging workers to vote against the effort, according to the Vice.
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum praised Biden’s statement saying that a union is “the best way for workers to protect themselves and their families”.
“And that is why so many workers and women are fighting for a union at Amazon’s facilities in Bessemer, Alabama,” Appelbaum said in a statement.