Banners are placed at the Amazon facility as members of a congressional delegation arrive to show their support for workers who will vote on whether to unionize, in Bessemer, Alabama, U.S. March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Dustin Chambers
Evidence submitted by a retail union that raised objections to Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) conduct at this month's union election in Alabama "could be grounds for overturning the vote", the National Labor Relations Board said on Wednesday.
The labor board has overturned several union elections over the years. In 2016, the board overturned an election the United Steelworks union lost by a decisive vote - a decision criticized by large U.S. business lobbies.
The NLRB will hold a hearing on May 7 to consider objections filed by the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which failed to secure enough votes from Amazon warehouse workers to form a union. The vote count announced on April 9 showed that workers at Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse rejected the union by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
"The evidence submitted by the union in support of its objections could be grounds for overturning the election if introduced at a hearing," the labor board said.
The RWDSU submitted nearly two dozen objections to Amazon's conduct during the election, which it said prevented employees from a "free and uncoerced exercise of choice" on whether to create the company's first U.S. union.
The RWDSU alleged that Amazon's agents unlawfully threatened employees with closure of the warehouse if they joined the union and that the company emailed a warning it would lay off 75% of the proposed bargaining unit because of the union.
Amazon, which has denied the allegations, did not respond to requests for comment.
For much of its history, the NLRB has used its decision-making authority to change labor policy by establishing new precedents. The board has repeatedly overturned cases decided by prior administrations. Under the Trump administration, it overturned cases detrimental to employers which had been decided during the preceding Obama presidency.
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Greenfire32 on April 29th, 2021 at 15:35 UTC »
I just don't understand why companies (and people in general) can't just be fucking humane toward one another.
Why does a big trillion-dollar organization HAVE to treat its workforce like shit? Besides making a couple extra PENNIES for cheaper labor costs, what benefit is there to putting the people who make you your wealth through absolute hell and back?
Amazon can surely cover the cost of fucking bathroom breaks. So why they saying you can't have one? What the actual fuck?
openwheelr on April 29th, 2021 at 11:36 UTC »
Legit question because I don't really know the correct answer: is there anything preventing Amazon from closing this location if the election results are overturned and a union is authorized?
BrautanGud on April 29th, 2021 at 04:02 UTC »
"Evidence submitted by a retail union that raised objections to Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) conduct at this month's union election in Alabama "could be grounds for overturning the vote", the National Labor Relations Board said on Wednesday.
The labor board has overturned several union elections over the years. In 2016, the board overturned an election the United Steelworks union lost by a decisive vote - a decision criticized by large U.S. business lobbies.
The NLRB will hold a hearing on May 7 to consider objections filed by the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which failed to secure enough votes from Amazon warehouse workers to form a union. The vote count announced on April 9 showed that workers at Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse rejected the union by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
"The evidence submitted by the union in support of its objections could be grounds for overturning the election if introduced at a hearing," the labor board said.
The RWDSU submitted nearly two dozen objections to Amazon's conduct during the election, which it said prevented employees from a "free and uncoerced exercise of choice" on whether to create the company's first U.S. union.
The RWDSU alleged that Amazon's agents unlawfully threatened employees with closure of the warehouse if they joined the union and that the company emailed a warning it would lay off 75% of the proposed bargaining unit because of the union." - article excerpt