Amazon faces what could be the ‘biggest union vote in decades’

In less than a week, 6,000 Amazon workers at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, will vote on a union that could change the business forever – and have a huge impact on workers across the United States.

“This is perhaps the most important union vote in decades,” Lynne Vincent, assistant professor of management at the Whitman School at Syracuse University, told Insider. “It represents the conversation in our country regarding the economic and racial disparities that are ingrained in our systems and structure and how power is distributed.”

“He’s the richest man in the world against workers,” said Wilma Liebman, who served on the National Labor Relations Board under Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton.

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According to experts who spoke to Insider, Bessemer workers could provide a roadmap for employees at Amazon and other companies across the country on how to organize effectively. After decades of declining union membership, Amazon’s high-level organizing efforts could help turn the tide.

“If they are able to win a union for themselves in such a broken system, then I think it’s so encouraging for other warehouse workers at Amazon, but also for workers in other industries and d ‘other retailers,’ said Céline McNicholas, director of government. business at the Institute for Economic Policy.

“If we cannot have a system in which workers are able to generate earnings for themselves, when they work in such shameful conditions, then – we have never needed more reform,” added McNicholas.

Amazon follows anti-union playbook that has worked for decades

REUTERS / Lucas Jackson

Bessemer workers are in the process of voting to form a union, with voting due to end on March 29.

In recent weeks, Amazon has worked to dissuade employees from supporting the union. Anti-union strategies range from handing out ‘Vote No’ pins to texting workers saying ‘the union can’t promise you anything’.

Isobel Asher Hamilton and Annabelle Williams of Insider report that in late January Amazon hired an outside company to hold meetings to discuss organizing, broadcasting what some workers saw as “misleading” anti-union rhetoric. A mysterious mailbox appeared outside the warehouse in late February, a radical departure from Amazon’s previous opposition to workers voting by mail.

“I think a lot of people, unfortunately, are afraid of them, and they’re afraid of losing their jobs,” Catherine Highsmith, who works at the warehouse, told Insider.

While experts say Amazon’s actions are “aggressive,” they also say they are following a well-known anti-union playbook. (Amazon did not respond to Insider’s request for comment on its anti-union strategy.)

Almost all union campaigns face stiff opposition from employers. In fact, American employers are accused of breaking federal law in 41.5% of union election campaigns, according to EPI. These aggressive tactics have contributed to the decline in union membership in the United States, according to McNicholas, which has fallen by 50% since 1983.

Many employers fear that unions will reduce their profits and undermine the autonomy of businesses. Because the consequences of violating federal labor law are minor, McNicholas said, companies often believe it is in their best interests to do whatever is necessary to prevent workers from unionizing.

Take, for example, Walmart. McNicholas notes that ten years ago Walmart was the poster child of the union opposition. The company’s anti-union efforts helped raise awareness among the general public that companies were engaging in more sophisticated campaigns against unionization, helping to create a “niche industry” to avoid unions.

“Amazon is sort of following the path set by Walmart,” McNicholas said.

Unionizing an Amazon warehouse could have a huge impact

Rick T. Wilking / Getty Images

While the Bessemer warehouse represents only a tiny percentage of Amazon’s 560,000 employees worldwide, the union vote could have a major impact.

A vote in favor of the union would still only be the first step in recognizing the Amazon workers’ union. But, according to experts, it could help show other workers that unionization is possible at Amazon and beyond. More than 1,000 workers have already contacted the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union in recent weeks, exploring organizing their own workplace, according to the Washington Post.

“The conversation around economic and racial disparities is growing,” said Vincent. “It’s not just about Amazon, and the effects extend beyond Amazon.”

Amazon’s worker unionization efforts have received extensive media coverage and have garnered support from prominent figures including President Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders.

“Given this momentum and the big power public support, union membership could increase even if the Bessemer distribution center does not unionize,” said Vincent.

Outside of Bessemer, some Amazon workers are optimistic about what a union could mean for workers.

“They should be allowed to unionize. It’s better for everyone,” Art Velasquez, a former Amazon delivery boy, told Insider this week.

Organizing, said Velasquez, is “a win-win solution for the company and the employees”.