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If employees at an Amazon.com facility in Bessemer, Ala., Vote for a union, it will increase the number of workers who choose to join a union in a Member State that is less than the U.S. average. .
But the vote, which began on March 30, is also being closely watched for other reasons – including Amazon’s position as the second largest U.S. employer, and the prospect of a ‘yes’ vote a general trend down. to take, will enlarge. unions in the private sector since the ’60s.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM, INC. | 3 279.39 | + 55.57 | + 1.72% |
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Unionization has fallen into different industries over the past two decades.
Amazon, which operates in all 50 countries, has about 950,000 employees in the US, and currently there are no unions yet. The company is the second largest U.S. employer after Walmart Inc., which it is expected to overtake in the next few years.
Union leaders are being joined by community group representatives, elected officials and social activists for a rally in support of union efforts by Amazon workers in the state of Alabama on March 21, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. – (Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)
According to Amazon, it has created more than 9,000 jobs in Alabama, where it has two delivery stations and five supermarkets for the Whole Foods Market, in addition to the service and sorting center in Bessemer.
Alabama’s union rate, currently below 10%, is generally lower than in the US. But the state’s trend has followed a similar general downward line in recent decades.
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There are 5,805 Amazon workers in Bessemer. If they were all united, they would be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which as of 2020 had 18,000 members in the state; the new workers would represent an increase of about 32%. Alabama is a right to work, so workers will not be expected to join the union.
According to union estimates, most workers at the Bessemer site are black; nationwide, about 27% of Amazon’s employees are black. While unions have been declining in racial groups in the U.S. since 2000, black workers are likely to be represented by a union, and organizers at the Amazon Warehouse have raised issues about racial empowerment during their campaign.
AMAZON CONTRACTS HUNDRED BALLOTS TO VOTE UNION IN ALABAMA: REPORT
Meanwhile, public support for unions in the US has increased in recent years. Last year, according to Gallup data, it reached its highest point since 2003, rising from a low seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis.