Amazon campaigns against employees who unite. FOX Business’ Jeff Flock and more.
According to reports, Amazon has challenged hundreds of ballot papers amid the company’s careful union election in Alabama.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), to which the employees want to join, said in a statement on Wednesday that ‘hundreds of printed ballot papers mostly addressed by the employer’ after the public count.
Meanwhile, all undisputed ballot papers have been cleared.
“As the ballot envelopes are opened and the vote is counted, there is a possibility that more issues could affect the final outcome,” the statement said.
AMAZO STANDS OUT OF SUPPORT OF INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS – INCLUDING TAX INCREASE
Michael Foster of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) has a poster outside an Amazon facility where workers want to organize workers in Bessemer, Alabama, on February 9, 2021. (Associated Press)
According to the trade union Business Insider, the union received more than 3,200 postal votes through the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The election was available to more than 5,800 employees at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer.
The workers are voting on whether they want to join the RWDSU. If that happens, their warehouse will be the first Amazon facility to unite in the US
Labor organizers hope that a victory in Bessemer will abandon workers nationwide – and not just at Amazon – to give consideration to unions. For Amazon, this could potentially mean a huge blow to its profits and could change its business operations.
They want Amazon warehouse workers to give higher salaries, treat more rest and respect. Many workers complain about long working days and only two breaks of 30 minutes.
Amazon has been powerful in its defense and has exploded both progressive members of Congress in response to criticism and held mandatory meetings on why the union is a bad idea. Amazon argued that the Bessemer warehouse created thousands of jobs with an average salary of $ 15.30 per hour, which is more than twice the minimum wage in Alabama.
AMAZON UNION VOTES IN ALABAMA SITTING ORGANIZED WORK IN HISTORICAL CHANCE
“RWDSU’s membership has declined over the past two decades, but it’s not a justification for its president, Stuart Appelbaum, to misrepresent the facts. Our employees know the truth – wages of $ 15 or more, health care from the first day, and a safe We have encouraged all our employees to vote and hope they do, “an Amazon spokesman said in a statement to Fox Business.
According to Reuters, Amazon, the union and the NLRB can challenge the ballot papers if they accept that they have been tampered with, fraudulent or from a worker who is not eligible to vote.
Voting in the Bessemer warehouse began in early February despite the company’s objections, including a push for a personal vote. Voting ended March 29, and the first phase of the count began the following day.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
The RWDSU is expected to launch a number of public votes on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.
Fox Business’ Samuel Dorman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.