Amazon Warehouse Workers to Vote on Union: What We Know

Organizers have said forming a union would allow workers to collectively bargain over safety standards, training, breaks, pay and other benefits. Those topics have been at the center of disputes between Amazon and its workforce sprawled across hundreds of facilities. Some employees have complained about what they say is a grueling workload and how the company monitors employees through an internal tracking system and cameras.

Amazon, which is on pace—based on recent hiring trends—to overtake Walmart Inc. within the next few years, has said that it offers some of the best pay and benefits available for comparable jobs in similar industries, and that the company provides a competitive compensation package that includes 401(k) and health-care coverage.

Here is what you need to know about the coming vote:

Why are workers organizing now, and why does it matter?

RWDSU leaders have said they believe the coronavirus pandemic, together with the past year’s civil-rights movements in America and tense political climate, has encouraged people to act. The union has touched on themes related to racial empowerment, as many of the employees at the Amazon warehouse are Black and have been involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. Labor experts say unionizing in Bessemer could lead to similar efforts at other Amazon facilities. The company employs more than 800,000 people in the U.S., most at its warehouses across the country.

How could the election play out?

Ballots are set to be mailed to roughly 6,000 workers on Feb. 8. Employees have until the end of March to return their votes. The majority of voters would have to support unionizing in order to join the union. Amazon and the union have been battling for votes through varying employee outreach. Even if workers vote to unionize, it could take years of bargaining to reach a first contract between Amazon and the union. Either side could also contest the results of the election.

Would a union change Amazon?

Initially, not much. The company would have to start working toward a contract with Bessemer workers and worry about similar efforts popping up at other facilities. Eventually, it could push the company to offer improved benefits or tweak its workplace policies.

Amazon helped boost pay for low-wage workers in 2018 when it raised its hourly rate to $15 an hour, though it simultaneously did away with certain incentive pay and stock compensation. The company the next year committed to retraining one-third of its workforce, in part to help its employees move into more advanced jobs inside the company or find new careers outside of it.

Amazon is in a favorable position to handle threats to its business. The company last year made record earnings and further entrenched itself as the most dominant online retailer. Roughly 40% of online sales are made on Amazon, according to market research firm eMarketer. The company’s recent success has come up among some workers, who point to its profits and growth as a sign that Amazon could make changes to improve conditions.

Why has Amazon opposed unionization?

Many companies don’t favor unions because it can limit flexibility and force them to negotiate on workplace issues that executives might want to set on their own terms. Although Amazon has dealt with labor unions among its employees in Europe for years, the company has opposed unionization attempts in the U.S. in the past.

An effort backed by the RWDSU in 2018 to organize employees at Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market fizzled. About four years earlier, a small number of maintenance and repair technicians voted down a unionization attempt at a Middletown, Del., facility. During the Whole Foods campaign, Amazon used a training video to coach Whole Foods staff on how to spot organizing efforts. The company has said this video is no longer in use.

And last year, Amazon posted, and later removed, job listings for analysts that included descriptions on monitoring labor-organizing threats. Amazon has said the postings weren’t an accurate description of the roles and were made in error.

How has each side campaigned in the vote?

Organizers have set up a presence outside the 855,000-square-foot warehouse on an almost daily basis, talking to workers and handing them leaflets. The union in late January received employee contact information, making it easier to connect with workers. It also launched an information website and has sought to garner support by rallying employees through family members and union members who work in other industries.

Meanwhile, Amazon created a website—DoItWithoutDues.com—to encourage workers to vote against unionizing. Signs were posted around the facility, and managers have held frequent meetings there with workers. A central focus of the company’s message revolves around the cost of union dues, and Amazon has argued that a union is unnecessary because its workers receive better pay and benefits from the company than they would in other comparable jobs.

Write to Sebastian Herrera at [email protected]