Workers who voted against a union at Amazon’s Bessemer fulfillment center Friday expressed relief that the nearly five-month organizing effort was over, while organizers vowed to fight on after the online retailer appeared to successfully beat back a historic union challenge.
Unofficial results tallied Friday morning by the National Labor Relations Board were 1,798 no votes against unionization, 738 yes votes for the union, 505 challenges and 76 voided ballots. The NLRB said 5,867 employees were eligible to vote. Turnout was about 55 percent.
The spectacle of Amazon, a company which had previously beat back organizing efforts, facing one in a right-to-work state, seized attention from the White House, members of Congress, entertainers and professional athletes. But the workers themselves who spoke following the vote count said they were not persuaded that the union would improve their positions.
Speaking from the Bessemer center this afternoon, Amazon worker William Stokes, a process assistant, said he felt the union effort failed because a majority of employees “realized that a lot of things that Amazon already has are better than what the union can offer.”
Here is full coverage of the Alabama Amazon unionization effort
J.C. Thompson, another process assistant, said the vote showed that some employees at the center “have issues, but overwhelmingly we are happy, that this was a win for our co-workers, not a win for anybody else but us. And we’re looking forward to changing the narrative here.” Thompson said he was sad that workers who voted for the union had not had the same experience as he and others have had on the job at Amazon.
‘This is just the spark’
As for the union, its leadership announced today it will file objections to the conduct of the election and related unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB, saying Amazon interfered with the election. RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said Amazon’s “extraordinary turnover rate” might have been a factor, as well as fears the center might close if the union vote succeeded. He also cited mandatory training sessions for employees before the election that the RWDSU said were forums for anti-union messaging.
“They were doing that because they didn’t want them to have the opportunity to engage with the union after having attended mandatory captive audience meetings,” he said.
“What I think you saw in the results...was a real fear that they were going to lose their jobs if they voted for the union. And that’s because they felt Amazon knew everything they were doing and Amazon worked very hard to get a very strange mailbox installed on their property and insisted that people vote at that box.”
The union is calling for an investigation into a postal collection box installed during the election for ballots.
Emmit Ashford, an Amazon employee who supported the union, said it was an emotional time for workers. After weeks of national attention and shows of support that included President Joe Biden, the vote failed.
“Of course, we’re going to be disappointed, frustrated, angry about the way this election has turned out, because of being misled and manipulated and lied to,” Ashford said. “But not only that, I’m feeling hope and joy today...this is just the spark that has started a fire across the United States. We will have to go to work tomorrow, and this experience has bonded us.”
Linda Burns, another worker supporting the union, said she was not discouraged. “I’m happy, I’m proud. This is the beginning. This is not over. Even if I leave Amazon today or tomorrow, I’m still going to be in it. (Amazon CEO Jeff) Bezos, you are wrong. You’re wrong all the way around.”
Michael “Big Mike” Foster, an RWDSU organizer who has been on the ground in Bessemer since the effort began, was similarly defiant. He said workers in Alabama had sent a message to Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, and inspired other unions around the world.
“They should not hang their head down for anything,” Foster said. “They have done something awesome, and I don’t think it could have happened in a better area than this right here. This can happen anywhere. All you have to do is stand up and fight.”
‘A lot of things on the table’
The workers who voted against the union said they believe they can work with Amazon to address issues that led to the union effort. Organizers cited several factors, including issues with management, the pace of work and COVID-19 precautions.
William Stokes said there “are a lot of things on the table” and that Amazon’s Bessemer employees have already been in discussion with leadership. He thinks those changes can be made without a union.
“We’re talking with senior management and over the next 100 days, we’re already talking about things we want to change, so change will come,” he said. “We want to show the rest of the country, the rest of the world, that you don’t have to have a union to make changes and do the necessary things you need to do.”
Lavonette Stokes, who works in flow management, mentioned managers needs sensitivity and unconscious bias training “so they can be more empathetic to the issues that we have.” Thompson agreed, saying that “degrees are good, but if we don’t get a degree in people, we are gonna be right back at this juncture again.”
Carla Johnson, another worker, said management could become more empathetic and more personally engaged with employees. She said her experience had been positive. About two months after she got hired at Bessemer, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She said she believes her benefits saved her life.
“I was able to receive all the necessary treatment that I needed with no issues,” Johnson said.
The road ahead
It’s too early to tell what effect the Bessemer vote will have on the future of organized labor in the United States. Supporters during the drive talked of making inroads with online retailers and Big Tech companies, and further organizing efforts in other fields, such as auto manufacturing in Alabama.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the employees’ “fight for justice and dignity and safety endures.”
“Working people in Bessemer understand something Amazon never will: This union election was about reclaiming our rightful share of power and shaping the future for generations to come,” he said. “Not just for Amazon workers in Bessemer, but all working people across America. There is a surging movement for workplace democracy that is reaching every corner of the country. It’s reverberating far beyond a small town in Alabama.”
Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said the state looks forward to working with Amazon on future growth in Alabama.
“It’s not surprising Amazon employees in Alabama voted overwhelmingly against unionization, as the company provides world-class benefits and a safe, quality work environment,” he said. “We’re proud that Amazon chose Alabama, and we are proud to be a Right-To-Work state. Alabama has an unwavering support for its workforce, just as it supports the growth of business and economic development so vital for our citizens and communities.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville said in a statement that, “The folks at Amazon’s Bessemer facility made the decision they felt is best for them, their families, and their community. But the important thing is that they had the choice. Alabama’s Right to Work law gives workers a choice in whether they want to unionize or not.”
Will Brucher, a teaching instructor at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said, “Amazon won this battle, but the war may not be over.”
“Pro-union workers can continue to organize, press for improvements in working conditions, and perhaps win another election in the future,” he said. “Community-based, grassroots organizing can succeed, even against a powerful employer like Amazon.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, (D-Mich.), a former union organizer who is vice chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, said Amazon “won recognition as the very symbol of corporate oppression of worker voice, of income and wealth inequality, and of the dehumanization of work.”
““The goal of a company like Amazon in one of these elections is not to win hearts and minds, not to persuade people, not to have a truthful debate about the pros and cons of workers having a union,” Levin said. “They know it would be hard for them to win such a debate. The company’s goal is to create so much pressure, anxiety and fear—and to make workers feel that the pressure will never go away as long as the union is around—that workers feel they have no choice but to vote no, like someone crying uncle when they have been threatened relentlessly for days, weeks and months.”