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The counting of the votes began on Tuesday to determine whether workers in Bessemer, Alabama, will form the first-ever union in an Amazon warehouse in the United States.
The organizing efforts of one of the nation’s largest employers have caught the attention of lawmakers and beyond, as many view the decisive vote as a key moment in the organized labor movement that has languished in the United States in recent years. decades.
“Amazon is such a big player in the economy, and the tech sector has not been one in which the labor movement is heavily represented,” Cornell’s School dean Alex Colvin told ABC News on Tuesday. of Industrial and Labor Relations. . “It could be a real change if we start to see the organization at Amazon.”
Colvin said union training in Alabama could set a “precedent” and inspire other Amazon workers across the country to follow suit.
“Amazon has a lot of facilities across the country and a lot of employees,” he added. “If this is the start of a larger movement towards organizing at Amazon, it would be a big deal for the economy.”
The National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday began compiling the votes of some 5,800 workers at the Bessemer Amazon facility, although it is not immediately known when the results of the vote are expected to arrive.
If successful, warehouse workers will be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union (RWDSU).
“This campaign has already been a victory in many ways,” RWDSU Chairman Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement. “Even though we don’t know how the vote will go, we think we’ve opened the door to more organizing across the country; and we exposed the efforts of employers to crush their employees in trying to gain a union voice. – this campaign has become the best example of why we need labor law reform in this country. “
Colvin told ABC News that regardless of how the vote unfolds, “We should anticipate some likelihood of a prolonged period of conflict over the establishment of collective bargaining in the workplace, we generally find that ‘after the elections. “
Alabama’s worker organizing efforts have drawn support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Traveled to Alabama to meet with some of the workers involved in the organizing efforts.
“All I want to know is why the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, is spending millions to stop workers from organizing a union so they can negotiate better wages, benefits and working conditions. work, ”Sanders tweeted ahead of his visit.
His tweet angered Amazon executive Dave Clark, who responded to Sander’s tweet by noting that Vermont’s minimum wage is $ 11.75 an hour compared to Amazon’s $ 15, adding : “The Sen should keep his lecture wiggling his fingers until he actually speaks in his own backyard.”
Across the aisle, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Also publicly expressed his support for the union in an op-ed published by USA Today earlier this month.
On the day the union vote began, President Joe Biden posted a video on Twitter expressing his support for unions and urging workers to “make their voices heard.”
In response to a request for comment on the start of the vote count, Amazon told ABC News on Tuesday in a statement that “RWDSU membership fell 25% during Stuart Appelbaum’s tenure, but that does not justify that Mr. Appelbaum is twisting the facts. “
The statement continued, “Our employees know the truth – a starting salary of $ 15 or more, healthcare from day one and a safe and inclusive workplace. We encouraged all of our employees to vote and their voice. will be heard in the days. ahead. “
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