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Amazon fight against the creation of what could be the company’s first union of employees in the United States, in accordance with a anti-unionism It is one of the great obsessions of a company which is already the second largest employer in the country.
Workers at an Alabama warehouse have voted throughout February and March whether or not they want to organize into a union, and these days the vote is ongoing, a long and controversial process because the validity of each vote is analyzed individually by part of the company and the workers.
“Even if (the pro-unionists) win, what happens next is Amazon files a complaint alleging that the elections did not go the right way,” prediction in an interview with Efe the business expert and visiting professor at George Washington University Robin Gaster.
Gaster, author of the book “Behemoth, Amazon Rising: Power and Seduction in the Age of Amazon” (“Behemot, la subida de Amazon: poder y seduction in the Amazon era “), notes that this foreseeable complaint will be presented to the National Industrial Relations Board (NLRB).
The government entity, the highest authority on labor disputes in the country, will continue to be dominated in the coming months by a majority of Republican members appointed in the past. Donald Trump’s Gobierno (2017-2021) and generally closer to the interests of the company than to those of the trade unionists.
This auspicious scenario, as well as the long history Anti-union Amazon and the strong opposition it has presented in recent months in the Alabama case (even attacking senators in favor of the union effort in the networks) virtually guarantees a long battle and with all arms.
Even if all your efforts were in vain and the union was finally formed, Gaster Remember that US law provides that the following year the company will try to force a new vote and if the majority is not repeated, the union will no longer be recognized.
Although Amazon It has been around for over 25 years and employs around 800,000 workers in the United States, they have no union organization as a direct result of strong corporate opposition and an employment model based on high rates of employment. high turnover.
“It’s a very difficult environment for unions to form because they demand trust and solidarity among workers, but at Amazon they don’t have time because workers are constantly coming and going,” Gaster says.
In addition, according to the expert, the company can screen relatively easily (through interviews and an analysis of their professional background) potential new hires to ensure that they are not in favor of unionization.
Since the start of the vote at Alabama, Amazonia rolled out a very strong advertising campaign across the country that praised the working conditions of the company and has since engaged on behalf of the company in bitter discussions with progressive senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
“Amazon is very hostile to organizing efforts and they have taken advantage of the fact that over the last forty years in the United States, since (former President Ronald) Reagan, the climate for labor organizations has been very difficult,” explains Peter Meiksins, professor emeritus of sociology at Cleveland State University in Ohio.
In addition to the traditional resistance of most employers to trade unions, in the case of Amazon Experts suggest adding an element of corporate culture, in which an absolute commitment to the “mission” of the company is needed and unions are seen as a gap in this company.
This is evidenced by policies like the option offered each January to employees to leave the company voluntarily if they are not comfortable with compensation of $ 1,000 per year worked, but with the promise that they will not. will never work for them again.
“Amazon can be understood as a sect. Its mission is to be the most customer-centric company on the planet and that means that anything that is good for the customer is acceptable, “even if it means pushing its employees to their limits to reduce the final cost of the service, Gaster explains.
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