SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Union leaders are joined by community group representatives, elected officials, and social activists for a rally in support of unionization efforts by Amazon workers in Alabama on March 21, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
With Amazon Accused of Cheating, NLRB Official Says Workers Should Get Another Union Vote
"Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable," said the head of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.
Aug 03, 2021
An official at the National Labor Relations Board on Monday formally recommended tossing out the results of a closely watched union election at Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, potentially giving workers there a chance to hold another vote as the e-commerce giant faces accusations of unlawful misconduct.
"We support the hearing officer's recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election."
--Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU
The recommendation by NLRB hearing officer Kerstin Meyers has yet to be released to the public, but the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)--which led the unionization drive at the Bessemer warehouse--said the official concluded that "Amazon violated labor law" and that a second election should be held. (Update: here is Meyers' recommendation.)
An NLRB regional director will now review the decision and determine whether to adopt Meyers' recommendation--a process that could take weeks. Amazon has already vowed to appeal to ensure that the results of the first election are upheld.
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said in a statement that "throughout the NLRB hearing, we heard compelling evidence of how Amazon tried to illegally interfere with and intimidate workers as they sought to exercise their right to form a union."
Following Bessemer workers' overwhelming April vote against unionizing, RWDSU lodged nearly two dozen complaints with the NLRB alleging that Amazon illegally threatened employees with loss of pay and benefits, installed and surveilled an unlawful ballot collection box, and singled out and removed pro-union workers from so-called "captive audience" meetings during which management argued against unionization.
"We support the hearing officer's recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election," Appelbaum said Monday. "The question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers' decision and not the employer's. Amazon's behavior throughout the election process was despicable. Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable."
The long-shot effort to unionize roughly 6,000 Bessemer workers in the face of Amazon's relentless intimidation campaign drew national attention--including from President Joe Biden--as observers saw the election as a potential bellwether for the U.S. labor movement.
"This is happening in the toughest state, with the toughest company, at the toughest moment," Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University, said earlier this year. "If the union can prevail given those three facts, it will send a message that Amazon is organizable everywhere."
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Kerstin Meyers.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
An official at the National Labor Relations Board on Monday formally recommended tossing out the results of a closely watched union election at Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, potentially giving workers there a chance to hold another vote as the e-commerce giant faces accusations of unlawful misconduct.
"We support the hearing officer's recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election."
--Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU
The recommendation by NLRB hearing officer Kerstin Meyers has yet to be released to the public, but the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)--which led the unionization drive at the Bessemer warehouse--said the official concluded that "Amazon violated labor law" and that a second election should be held. (Update: here is Meyers' recommendation.)
An NLRB regional director will now review the decision and determine whether to adopt Meyers' recommendation--a process that could take weeks. Amazon has already vowed to appeal to ensure that the results of the first election are upheld.
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said in a statement that "throughout the NLRB hearing, we heard compelling evidence of how Amazon tried to illegally interfere with and intimidate workers as they sought to exercise their right to form a union."
Following Bessemer workers' overwhelming April vote against unionizing, RWDSU lodged nearly two dozen complaints with the NLRB alleging that Amazon illegally threatened employees with loss of pay and benefits, installed and surveilled an unlawful ballot collection box, and singled out and removed pro-union workers from so-called "captive audience" meetings during which management argued against unionization.
"We support the hearing officer's recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election," Appelbaum said Monday. "The question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers' decision and not the employer's. Amazon's behavior throughout the election process was despicable. Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable."
The long-shot effort to unionize roughly 6,000 Bessemer workers in the face of Amazon's relentless intimidation campaign drew national attention--including from President Joe Biden--as observers saw the election as a potential bellwether for the U.S. labor movement.
"This is happening in the toughest state, with the toughest company, at the toughest moment," Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University, said earlier this year. "If the union can prevail given those three facts, it will send a message that Amazon is organizable everywhere."
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Kerstin Meyers.
An official at the National Labor Relations Board on Monday formally recommended tossing out the results of a closely watched union election at Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, potentially giving workers there a chance to hold another vote as the e-commerce giant faces accusations of unlawful misconduct.
"We support the hearing officer's recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election."
--Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU
The recommendation by NLRB hearing officer Kerstin Meyers has yet to be released to the public, but the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)--which led the unionization drive at the Bessemer warehouse--said the official concluded that "Amazon violated labor law" and that a second election should be held. (Update: here is Meyers' recommendation.)
An NLRB regional director will now review the decision and determine whether to adopt Meyers' recommendation--a process that could take weeks. Amazon has already vowed to appeal to ensure that the results of the first election are upheld.
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said in a statement that "throughout the NLRB hearing, we heard compelling evidence of how Amazon tried to illegally interfere with and intimidate workers as they sought to exercise their right to form a union."
Following Bessemer workers' overwhelming April vote against unionizing, RWDSU lodged nearly two dozen complaints with the NLRB alleging that Amazon illegally threatened employees with loss of pay and benefits, installed and surveilled an unlawful ballot collection box, and singled out and removed pro-union workers from so-called "captive audience" meetings during which management argued against unionization.
"We support the hearing officer's recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election," Appelbaum said Monday. "The question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers' decision and not the employer's. Amazon's behavior throughout the election process was despicable. Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable."
The long-shot effort to unionize roughly 6,000 Bessemer workers in the face of Amazon's relentless intimidation campaign drew national attention--including from President Joe Biden--as observers saw the election as a potential bellwether for the U.S. labor movement.
"This is happening in the toughest state, with the toughest company, at the toughest moment," Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University, said earlier this year. "If the union can prevail given those three facts, it will send a message that Amazon is organizable everywhere."
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Kerstin Meyers.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.