Amazon insists a milestone union vote will take place in person despite the pandemic

Amazon insists a milestone union vote will take place in person despite the pandemic

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The e-commerce giant submitted a motion on Thursday to postpone the union election, which begins on February 8, so that the NLRB can reconsider its decision to hold the election by post for almost two months instead of by ‘ an in-person event.

The NLRB declined to comment on Amazon’s request.

The union vote is a milestone for the Alabama facility and for Amazon (AMZN). While some Amazon employees are united in Europe, the company has so far repelled unions in the United States. A union election was held in a warehouse in Delaware in 2014, but led to workers largely rejecting the effort.

The NLRB said last week that the approximately 6,000 employees in Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama, facility would vote by mail, taking into account the health risks of the pandemic.

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“An election by postal vote will elect employees who are unable to enter the polling station due to health reasons or due to positive COVID tests,” reads the NLRB decision. “In addition, an election post by post will protect the health and safety of voters, agency staff, party representatives and the public during the current health crisis.”

In the submissions this week, however, Amazon said that the NLRB decision on its election does not specify what is considered an ‘outbreak’. Amazon said NLRB Acting Regional Director Lisa Henderson “has reached the remarkable conclusion that any level of infection or potential infection among employees could count as an ‘outbreak’.”

Amazon said 2.88% of the factory’s 7,575 employees and third-party workers in Bessemer – or 218 people – tested positive during the 14-day period that ended on January 7. Amazon rejected the idea that it would be considered an outbreak.

“If this is true, facilities will be in a constant state of ‘outbreak’ unless and until the virus disappears all but, and that up to that unknown time no manual election takes place,” the documentation reads, noting that a by-election tens or hundreds of voters “because it is imperfect.

In the NLRB’s decision last week, Henderson noted that Jefferson County, where the facility is located, had a positive percentage of more than 17% as of January 11, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The NLRB said in November that an email election would normally be appropriate if the number of confirmed cases in the country increases, or if it is 5% or higher. In the submission, Amazon said that this decision “reflects assumptions developed earlier in the pandemic.”

In a statement to CNN Business, Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox said the company believes that “the best approach to a valid, fair and successful election is done personally, making it easy for employees” to verify and cast their vote. the proximity of their workplace. ‘

“Amazon has provided the NLRB with a safe, confidential and convenient proposal for employees to vote on the spot, which is in the best interests of all parties – convenience of employees, loyalty to the vote and timely voting,” Knox said in the statement said. “We will continue to insist on measures for a fair election, and we want everyone to vote, and our focus is to ensure that this is possible.

The union push comes as Amazon’s working conditions come under scrutiny during the pandemic. The company has hired hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide to support the increase in demand. A number of warehouse workers have spoken out about security issues since the start of the pandemic.
Workers at the plant only submitted a notice to the NLRB in November about an election to merge with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
“If we have a union with Amazon, we will have the right to jointly negotiate our working conditions, including items such as safety standards, training, interruptions, compensation, benefits and other important issues that will improve our workplace,” reads a website in support of the union of Amazon’s Bessemer workers.

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