Union Files “Precedent-Setting” Charges of Misconduct Against Amazon

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union has filed new paperwork “precedent setting” chargesAmazon has been accused of misconduct by the National Labor Relations Board, (NRLB). The NRLB previously ruled that Amazon had violated the labor rights its employees at the Bessemer warehouse in Alabama last.

After Amazon’s interference in a closely monitored election in April 2021 was determined by the NLRB, Bessemer workers have been voting on whether they want to join a new retail union. Despite opposition from Amazon, the original union vote was not successful. However, organizing continued at the Bessemer warehouse as well as Amazon facilities in New York City and Canada.

“Removing union literature from break rooms, limiting workers’ ability to talk with each other, compelling attendance at captive audience meetings to listen to anti-union messages — all of these actions expose Amazon’s undisguised efforts to stifle workers’ voices and its contempt for their rights to join together,” said Wilma Liebman, a former chairperson for the NLRB, in a statement provided by RWDSU.

Amazon workers who were involved in organizing claimed that the company removed pro-union flyers they had placed next to anti-union flyers during their unpaid time off. This is allowed under labor laws. Roger Wyatt, a member of the organizing committee for workers, said workers were forced to attend “training” meetings with anti-union messaging.

“Being forced to attend the captive-audience anti-union trainings was degrading,” Wyatt said in a statement released by RWDSU. “Amazon treated us like mindless robots, downloading misinformation to us. And the irony is, these meetings are the longest I’ve ever gotten to sit at work.”

In a statementTo ReutersAn Amazon spokeswoman stated that the company is confident it has not violated labor laws. “Our focus remains on working directly with our team to make Amazon a great place to work,” the company said.

Local support for the Bessemer union remains strong. Nearly two-thirds (23%) of Jefferson County residents support a union at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse. A survey of 1,000 county residents was released on Thursday and found that 62 per cent supported a union at Bessemer’s warehouse. This included 78 percent of Black respondents, and 79 per cent of Black women. About 85 percent of the Amazon warehouse’s employees are Black, and Black workers are leading the union drive, accordingThe survey was commissioned by the Institute for Policy Studies, an independent think tank.

The survey, which was released Thursday, included questions about economic and socio-justice issues as well as questions about the union drive at Amazon Warehouse, a major employer in the region. Although the labor movement has struggled historically to win popular support and win elections in the South, nearly half of the white respondents indicated that they support a union at the Amazon warehouse.

“Even in the heart of the right-to-work U.S. South, there is amazing potential for an energized and revitalized labor movement to score major victories and improve the lives of Alabama workers,” said Marc Bayard, director of the Black Worker Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies. “This survey shows that local community members stand with unionization efforts at Amazon facilities in Jefferson County, despite misinformation campaigns.”

Workers at the Bessemer warehouse are able to cast ballots in the current union elections until late March.If enough workers vote to join, the warehouse will become the first Amazon facility in the country to unionize. This could set the precedent for other facilities.

What’s Amazon afraid of?” Liebman added.