Amazon Alabama Workers Vote Against Joining Union

An effort to unionize the workforce at the Amazon.com Inc. AMZN warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, has failed.

What Happened: The warehouse employs approximately 5,800 workers. Among the warehouse’s 3,125 employees who voted on the union organizing issue, 1,798 voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and 738 voted yes.

The vote would have required a positive vote of at least 50% plus one employee in order for a unionizing effort to be recognized by the National Labor Relations Board.

The vote took place by mail during February and March. Roughly 500 of the total ballots were contested, mostly with Amazon raising objections.

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What Happens Next: RWDSU President Stuart Applebaum plans to challenge the final tally, claiming the company interfered with the unionizing process.

"We won’t let Amazon’s lies, deception and illegal activities go unchallenged, which is why we are formally filing charges against all of the egregious and blatantly illegal actions taken by Amazon during the union vote," Applebaum said. "Amazon knew full well that unless they did everything they possibly could, even illegal activity, their workers would have continued supporting the union."

The Alabama vote was the second time in Amazon’s history that workers sought to unionize. In 2014, a unionizing effort at an Amazon distribution center in Delaware did not succeed.

Photo by Justgrimes / Flickr Creative Commons.