Carol Roth discusses Amazon vote on ‘Making Money’
Amazon.com Inc. employees in Alabama, who spoke out against union office, said they were very concerned about job security and that they were convinced that their salaries and benefits would not increase significantly with the help of a union.
The resounding victory for Amazon, the country’s second largest private employer, came after organizing a successful local campaign, highlighting the company’s strengths and questioning the union’s benefits. Nationally, Amazon has had an outcry of criticism over its workplace conditions, including when a top executive quarreled with members of Congress on Twitter.
Analysts say the union’s defeat will strengthen Amazon after a year of tremendous growth and success fueled by the pandemic. The tech giant’s revenue rose 38% last year to $ 386 billion, nearly doubling its profits, adding 500,000 people to its global workforce.
Some workers said Amazon helped send their vote against union. Other employees said they did not need to be convinced by Amazon and were against union from the start.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM, INC. | 3 372.20 | +72.90 | + 2.21% |
AMAZON VOICE OFFERS EXPAND FOR EXPANDING MEMBERSHIP OF THE LABOR UNION
Amazon has indicated its minimum wage of $ 15 per hour, double the state’s minimum wage of $ 7.25 per hour, which is also the federal minimum. The company also highlighted its healthcare and retirement benefits.
Workers said they were wary of the cost of union dues and were not convinced that the union would be able to contribute significantly to their compensation or to improve benefits. In the end, less than 16% of the total number of staff members voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store unions.
“I work hard for my money, and I do not want any of it to go to a union that can give us more pay or take longer breaks,” said Melissa Charlton Myers, a 41-year-old employee. at the Bessemer, Ala., facility that voted on union. “It’s not worth the risk.”
At company meetings, which some employees describe as mandatory, Amazon gave them details about other contracts the RWDSU negotiated on behalf of employees in other industries. Cori Jennings, 40, another worker who voted against union, apparently did not indicate that the bargaining agreements that Amazon showed to employees indicated that there would be a material difference.
The union quoted the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that union members, on average, earn more than non-members.
Less than 16% of the total workforce in the facility chose to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. (AP Photo / Bill Barrow)
At a news conference organized by Amazon on Friday, some workers who opposed it said they were still looking for changes to the facility, such as adding driver training. However, the workers said they believe they can solve problems with the company without a third party.
Also, fears of possible consequences of forming a union played a role, including the possibility that Amazon would close the facility if they decided to unite, some employees said. Others are concerned that the company plans to open two other facilities it announced last year in a nearby area.
Amazon declined to comment.
Union workers said they wanted to say more about breaks, how they are monitored by the company and the pace at which they are expected to sort and move packages. The union is expected to appeal against the vote.
AMAZON EMPLOYEES CLAIM COMPANY ‘ILLEGALLY COLLECTED IN UN VOTE’
Iwan Barankay, a labor economist at the University of Pennsylvania, said union efforts may be popular among employees at the beginning of the momentum, but that the messages from companies can carry people over time – especially if it threatens their existence.
“The location of this plant plays a role,” Barankay said. Alabama has many low-income residents, “and other opportunities are not so readily available. These people may feel the difficulty of surviving a pandemic.”
The union vote removes one major challenge for Amazon, though others emerge.
Late last year, a congressional panel claimed that Amazon had amassed “monopolistic power” over sellers on its site, bullied retail partners and improperly used seller data to compete with competitors. Amazon said at the time that “large companies are by definition not dominant, and the presumption that success can only be the result of competitiveness is simply wrong.”
Amazon employees in Alabama, who helped themselves against union, said they were very concerned about job security and were convinced that their salaries and benefits would not increase significantly with the help of a union. (AP Photo / Jay Reeves, file)
Congress is now considering major changes to antitrust legislation in decades, including proposals that would make it easier for government to challenge competitive behavior or force technological giants to separate business.
This week, trader groups announced a national coalition to push for stricter antitrust laws. The effort contributes to state and federal investigations and lawsuits Amazon has faced over its power and workplace conditions. Amazon said its business model has benefited both the consumer and the millions of independent sellers selling on its website.
Amazon is not done with labor battles yet. As the vote took place in the Bessemer election, a small number of employees held a demonstration in a facility in Chicago over working conditions. Workers in Europe have recently gone on strike over similar issues, and the National Labor Relations Council has convicted the company several times in recent years of retaliating against workers who spoke out on various issues. Amazon said disciplinary action against workers was due to violations of workplace policies. The company said the Chicago protest did not interrupt its operations.
Still, Amazon’s victory in the election gives the company flexibility to run its warehouse, said Sucharita Kodali, an e-commerce analyst at Forrester Research Inc. “They want to change quickly and as they see fit, without disruption,” she said. said.
As voting in Bessemer ended, Amazon and its executives began giving more votes. Dave Clark, CEO of Worldwide Consumer, published tweets aimed at independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a regular Amazon critic who supports the union in Bessemer and calls Jeff Bezos, CEO, greedy.
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“I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that is not entirely correct, because we are actually delivering a progressive workplace,” he said. Clark tweeted on March 24, referring to Amazon’s minimum wage of $ 15, which is higher than the wage of Vermont’s $ 11.75 per hour. President Biden and celebrities such as actor Danny Glover, along with Mr. Sanders supports the Alabama workers.
“All I want to know is why the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, is spending millions to prevent workers from organizing,” he said. Sanders responded on Twitter the same day.
Amazon’s news account also tweeted the company’s defense. Some of them hit back. The company apologized after publishing a tweet through its news account on March 24, saying the bills were incorrectly challenged by workers who sometimes have to urinate in bottles due to Amazon’s demanding schedule to deliver packages.