Union Election At Amazon Warehouse Set For February 8
Workers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer are set to vote on unionization beginning February 8.
It will be the online retailer’s first union vote in the U.S. in seven years, and the first election to encompass an entire warehouse of workers, which Amazon refers to as “fulfillment associates.”
Today, Lisa Henderson, the Acting Regional Director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who oversees the Southeast, ordered the vote to be conducted entirely by mail. In her ruling, she cited the presence of COVID-19 both in Amazon’s facility and a 17% positivity rate in the surrounding areas.
Amazon went to great lengths to request an in-person election, including free testing for all participants, a sanitized and isolated hotel floor for election workers, and a digital monitoring tool dubbed “Distance Assistant” to enforce social distancing.
Henderson said the measures were both “creative” and “laudable,” but ultimately unpersuasive. Instead, she relied on precedent from recent NLRB elections that states “the COVID-19 pandemic indisputably warrants mail-ballot elections in appropriate circumstances.”
Approximately 6,000 workers will be eligible to vote, making this the largest union election in the country since the pandemic began. The election is scheduled to last seven weeks, providing enough time to mail, return, and process each ballot.
The decision itself is straightforward. Workers are voting “yes” or “no” on whether they want to be represented by the Retail Workers and Department Store Union. The RWDSU is one of the smaller national unions. It’s headquartered in New York City, but it’s Mid-South Council, based in Birmingham, is one of the largest regional offices.
The union has already tweeted about their excitement for the upcoming vote, while Amazon went live with an anti-union campaign, DoItWithoutDues.com. In multiple statements, Amazon has maintained that the unionization effort “does not represent the majority of our employees’ views.”
Congratulations everyone, we’re thrilled to share we have a date for our #union election to begin. More details are coming soon but we wanted to share this incredible news! #1U #BamazonUnion #UnionStrong pic.twitter.com/T9cEmchmmo
— BAmazonUnion (@BAmazonUnion) January 15, 2021
Workers will have until March 29 to submit their ballots. Baring a request for review or stay, counting is the following day, with the results expected shortly after.
Crew of fatal US military crash included Alabama father recently deployed
The six U.S. service members who died in the crash of a U.S. military refueling aircraft included an Alabama father who had just been promoted and deployed. The U.S. government released the identities of the deceased service members Saturday.
Alabama poised to drastically overhaul utility regulation. Will it lower electric bills?
The Alabama Senate unanimously voted to expand the public service commission, and create a Secretary of Energy to address rising electricity prices. A bill in the House would go even further, requiring rate case hearings and limiting utility profits.
Musher from Alabama is going for back-to-back Iditarod wins
Riches and paid appearances haven’t followed Jessie Holmes since he won the world’s most famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, last year. He doesn't mind.
Bill would move Alabama to closed primaries
Right now, any Alabama voter can participate in a primary election. Lawmakers in Montgomery took up a bill this week that would change that system.
Auburn football player uses NIL funds to open a community hub in Birmingham
Jourdin Crawford, a freshman defensive lineman at Auburn, used earnings from a Name, Image, and Likeness deal to give back to his hometown.
Ivey commutes death sentence of inmate whose accomplice fired fatal shot
Charles “Sonny” Burton was sentenced to death for the killing of Doug Battle during a 1991 robbery. However, another man shot Battle when Burton had left the building.
