BESSEMER, Alabama (AP) – Some Democratic members of Congress and national union leaders on Friday sought support for the unionization of a huge Amazon facility outside Birmingham, comparing the Alabama workers’ organization campaign to the civil rights movement. .
The voting of correspondence by about 6,000 workers at the large distribution facility began in February and runs through the end of March. It’s the biggest attempt at organizing Amazon’s history, taking great risks for the second largest employer in the country, which has a record of crushing union efforts in its warehouses and its Whole Foods supermarkets.
The result is critical for Amazon and organized work in general.
If Alabama’s effort is successful, it could trigger a chain reaction in Amazon’s operations across the country, with thousands of workers demanding better working conditions and seeking collective bargaining. It would also be seen as a blessing to other labor sectors in the historically anti-union South and beyond.
US Representative Terri Sewell, whose Alabama constituency includes Bessemer’s facilities, welcomed four members of the House of Democrats to draw attention to the vote. Sewell noted that the delegation’s visit comes days before Selma, his hometown, celebrates Bloody Sunday and the 1965 Voting Rights March.
“These workers are following a rich tradition … of crusading against something that is wrong,” said Sewell, echoing the claim by some workers that Amazon’s working conditions and wages are inadequate.
“The world is watching Alabama win once,” she said. “Birmingham, Bessemer, it is so important for the world to know that Alabama is once again standing up for civil and human rights.”
Representatives Nikema Williams of Georgia, Cori Bush of Missouri, Andy Levin of Michigan and Jamal Bowman of New York traveled to Alabama to meet with Amazon employees and representatives of the Retail, Wholesale and Warehouse Union seeking to organize workers.
The group met at the union headquarters and also went to an intersection outside the Amazon complex.
The visit takes place before the House vote next week on the PRO Law, a proposal supported by the union that aims to strengthen the ability of workers to organize themselves into collective bargaining unions. Lawmakers said they expected the measure to pass the Democratic-controlled House, but acknowledged that it faces an uphill battle in the 50-50 Senate, where the Republican opposition is likely enough to prevent the law from securing the 60 votes needed to pass most of the legislation.
At the Alabama facility, the majority of the 6,000 workers would have to vote “yes” to organize the facility. Amazon tried unsuccessfully to delay the vote and demand a personal vote.
The company, which saw its profits and revenues soar during the pandemic, ran a difficult campaign to persuade workers that a union would only cost them money. Company executives say workers already get what they want from a union: benefits, career growth and compensation that starts at $ 15 an hour.
Others dispute this.
Levin, the Michigan congressman who was once a union organizer, called it “the most important election for this country’s working class in my life”.