scorecard
  1. Home
  2. tech
  3. news
  4. More than 1,000 Amazon workers across the US have asked about unionization following the historic union vote at an Alabama warehouse

More than 1,000 Amazon workers across the US have asked about unionization following the historic union vote at an Alabama warehouse

Isobel Asher Hamilton   

More than 1,000 Amazon workers across the US have asked about unionization following the historic union vote at an Alabama warehouse
Tech2 min read
  • Amazon workers across the US appear increasingly interested in unionization.
  • More than 1,000 workers have contacted the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union recently, it said.
  • Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama are taking part in a unionization vote.

A historic unionization push in an Amazon warehouse in Alabama appears to have started a domino effect.

The Washington Post reports that over recent weeks, more than 1,000 Amazon workers around the US have got in touch with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) to enquire about setting up union drives at their own workplaces.

"More than 1,000 Amazon workers from around the country have reached out to the RWDSU seeking information about unionizing their workplaces," RWDSU spokeswoman Chelsea Connor told the Post.

Workers at Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama - which has more than 5,800 employees - are in the middle of a unionization vote. If they vote in favor of a union, this would be the first Amazon worker's union to be established in the US.

"It would help very much if Alabama votes yes," an anonymous Seattle-based worker told the Post. "The chances that we'll do something increases," they added.

The voting started on February 8 and is set to run through until March 29. Amazon has aggressively targeted workers with messaging telling them to vote no, including putting up banners and fliers in the bathrooms, according to reports.

At one point the company started targeting workers with anti-union adverts on streaming platform Twitch. Twitch - which is owned by Amazon - removed the ads, saying they violated its policies on political advertising.

After Amazon lost a bid to force the voting to happen in-person rather than by mail, a new USPS mailbox popped up outside the warehouse. Vice reported workers received texts telling them to place their ballots in that mailbox by March 1 - despite the fact the voting runs until March 29.

The unionization effort has received high-profile attention, and President Joe Biden even issued a warning to Amazon about interfering in the vote.

"There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda. No supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences," Biden said in a video broadcast last week.

Do you work for Amazon? Got a tip? Contact this reporter at ihamilton@insider.com or iahamilton@protonmail.com.

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement