On Wed, Mar 3, 2021 at 2:26 PM Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: > ADVERTISEMENT > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-top> > Amazon Workers’ Union Drive Reaches Far Beyond Alabama > > A vote on whether to form a union at the e-commerce giant’s warehouse in > Bessemer, Ala., has become a labor showdown, drawing the attention of > N.F.L. players, and the White House. > > - > > <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=9869919170&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F03%2F02%2Fbusiness%2Famazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html%3Fsmid%3Dfb-share&name=Amazon%20Workers%E2%80%99%20Union%20Drive%20Reaches%20Far%20Beyond%20Alabama&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F> > - > > <https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Amazon%20Workers%E2%80%99%20Union%20Drive%20Reaches%20Far%20Beyond%20Alabama%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F03%2F02%2Fbusiness%2Famazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html%3Fsmid%3Dwa-share> > - > > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F03%2F02%2Fbusiness%2Famazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html%3Fsmid%3Dtw-share&text=Amazon%20Workers%E2%80%99%20Union%20Drive%20Reaches%20Far%20Beyond%20Alabama> > - > > <?subject=NYTimes.com%3A%20Amazon%20Workers%E2%80%99%20Union%20Drive%20Reaches%20Far%20Beyond%20Alabama&body=From%20The%20New%20York%20Times%3A%0A%0AAmazon%20Workers%E2%80%99%20Union%20Drive%20Reaches%20Far%20Beyond%20Alabama%0A%0AA%20vote%20on%20whether%20to%20form%20a%20union%20at%20the%20e-commerce%20giant%E2%80%99s%20warehouse%20in%20Bessemer%2C%20Ala.%2C%20has%20become%20a%20labor%20showdown%2C%20drawing%20the%20attention%20of%20N.F.L.%20players%2C%20and%20the%20White%20House.%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F03%2F02%2Fbusiness%2Famazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html%3Fsmid%3Dem-share> > - > - > - *62* > > [image: The votes on whether to form a union at the Amazon fulfillment > center in Bessemer, Ala., need to be in by the end of the month.] > The votes on whether to form a union at the Amazon fulfillment center in > Bessemer, Ala., need to be in by the end of the month.Credit...Bob Miller > for The New York Times > [image: Michael Corkery] <https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-corkery>[image: > Karen Weise] <https://www.nytimes.com/by/karen-weise> > > By Michael Corkery <https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-corkery> and Karen > Weise <https://www.nytimes.com/by/karen-weise> > > - NYT, March 2, 2021Updated March 3, 2021, 12:28 a.m. ET > > Players from the National Football League were among the first to voice > their support. Then came Stacey Abrams, the Democratic star who helped turn > Georgia blue in the 2020 election. > > The actor Danny Glover traveled to Bessemer, Ala., for a news conference > last week, where he invoked the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pro-union > leanings in urging workers at Amazon’s warehouse there to organize. Tina > Fey has weighed in, and so has Senator Bernie Sanders. > > And on Sunday, President Biden > <https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/joe-biden> issued a resounding > declaration of solidarity with the workers now voting on whether to form a > union at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse, without mentioning the company by > name. Posted to his official Twitter account, his video was one of the most > forceful statements in support of unionizing by an American president in > recent memory. > > “Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union,” Mr. > Biden said. > > A unionizing campaign that had deliberately stayed under the radar > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/business/amazon-union-alabama.html> for > months has in recent days blossomed into a star-studded showdown to > influence the workers at Amazon, one of the world’s dominant companies > whose power has increased exponentially during the pandemic. On one side is > the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and its many pro-labor > allies in the worlds of politics, sports and Hollywood. On the other is an > e-commerce behemoth that has warded off previous unionizing efforts at its > U.S. facilities over its more than 25-year history. > > ADVERTISEMENT > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-1> > > The attention is turning this union vote into a referendum not just on > working conditions at the Bessemer warehouse, which employs 5,800, but on > the plight of low-wage employees and workers of color in particular. Many > of the employees in the Alabama warehouse are Black, a fact that the union > organizers have highlighted in their campaign seeking to link the vote to > the struggle for civil rights in the South. > > The retail workers union has a long history of organizing Black workers in > the poultry and food production industries, helping them gain basic > benefits like paid time off and safety protections and a means to economic > security. The union is portraying its efforts in Bessemer as part of that > legacy. > > “This is an organizing campaign in the right-to-work South during the > pandemic at one of the largest companies in the world,” said Benjamin > Sachs, a professor of labor and industry at Harvard Law School. “The > significance of a union victory there really couldn’t be overstated.” > > The warehouse workers began voting by mail on Feb. 8 and the ballots are > due at the end of this month. A union can form if a majority of the votes > cast favor such a move. > Editors’ Picks > The Season of the Snitch > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/style/the-season-of-the-snitch.html?action=click&algo=use&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=233660679&impression_id=2afedeb0-7c56-11eb-92a0-8f01827b26ee&index=0&pgtype=Article®ion=ccolumn&req_id=987196921&surface=home-featured&variant=2_use&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending> > On ‘S.N.L.,’ Dr. Fauci Hosts ‘So You Think You Can Get the Vaccine’ > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/28/arts/television/saturday-night-live-nick-jonas.html?action=click&algo=use&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=598402914&impression_id=2afedeb1-7c56-11eb-92a0-8f01827b26ee&index=1&pgtype=Article®ion=ccolumn&req_id=987196921&surface=home-featured&variant=2_use&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending> > How Marty Baron and Jeff Bezos Remade The Washington Post > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/business/marty-baron-jeff-bezos-washington-post.html?action=click&algo=use&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=994647180&impression_id=2afedeb2-7c56-11eb-92a0-8f01827b26ee&index=2&pgtype=Article®ion=ccolumn&req_id=987196921&surface=home-featured&variant=2_use&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending> > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending#after-pp_edpick> > Image[image: Amazon has posted signs in the facility and held meetings > with workers, urging them not to unionize.] > Amazon has posted signs in the facility and held meetings with workers, > urging them not to unionize.Credit...Wes Frazer for The New York Times > > Amazon’s countercampaign, both inside the warehouse and on a national > stage, has zeroed in on pure economics: that its starting wage is $15 an > hour, plus benefits. That is far more than its competitors in Alabama, > where the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. > > ADVERTISEMENT > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-2> > > “It’s important that employees understand the facts of joining a union,” > Heather Knox, an Amazon spokeswoman, said in a statement. “We will provide > education about that and the election process so they can make an informed > decision. If the union vote passes, it will impact everyone at the site and > it’s important associates understand what that means for them and their > day-to-day life working at Amazon.” The company, which went on a huge > hiring spree > <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/technology/pushed-by-pandemic-amazon-goes-on-a-hiring-spree-without-equal.html> > last year as homebound customers sent its sales to a record $386 > billion, recorded more than $22 billion in profit. > > In Alabama, some workers are growing weary of the process. One employee > recently posted on Facebook: “This union stuff getting on my nerves. Let it > be March 30th already!!!” > > The situation is getting testy, with union leaders accusing Amazon of a > series of “union-busting” tactics. > > The company has posted signs across the warehouse, next to hand sanitizing > stations and even in bathroom stalls. It sends regular texts and emails, > pointing out the problems with unions. It posts photos of workers in > Bessemer on the internal company app saying how much they love Amazon. > > At certain training sessions, company representatives have pointed out the > cost of union dues. When some workers have asked pointed questions in the > meetings, the Amazon representatives followed up with them at their work > stations re-emphasizing the downsides of unions, employees and organizers > say. The meetings stopped once the voting started, but the signs are still > up, said Jennifer Bates, a pro-union worker in the warehouse. > > In this charged atmosphere, even routine things have become suspect. The > union has raised questions about the changing of the timing of a traffic > light near the warehouse where labor organizers try to talk to the workers > as they are stopped in their vehicles while leaving the facility. > > ADVERTISEMENT > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-3> > > Amazon did ask county officials in mid-December to change the light’s > timing, though there is no evidence in the county records > <https://jeffersoncounty.nextrequest.com/requests/21-92> that the change > was made to thwart the union. “Traffic for Amazon is backing up around > shift change,” the public records > <https://jeffersoncounty.nextrequest.com/documents/6520863> stated as the > reason the county altered the light. > > Amazon regularly navigates traffic concerns > <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/03/technology/amazon-new-york-politics-jobs.html> > around its facilities, and wasting unpaid time in congested parking lots > is a frequent gripe of Amazon workers in Facebook groups. > > But the retail workers’ union president, Stuart Appelbaum, questioned the > timing of the request in Bessemer, coming as it did at the height of the > organizing. “When the light was red, we could answer questions and have a > brief conversation with workers,” he said. > > Last week, the union questioned an offer the company made to the Alabama > warehouse workers to pay them at least $1,000 if they quit by late March. > > “They are trying to remove the most likely union supporters from their > work force by bribing them to leave and give up their vote,” Mr. Appelbaum > said. > > But “The Offer,” as it’s known among employees, was the same that Amazon > made to workers at all of its warehouses around the country. It is an > annual program that lets the company reduce its head count after the peak > holiday shopping season without layoffs. It has been in place since at > least 2014, when Jeff Bezos wrote about it in a shareholder letter. > > “Once a year, we offer to pay our associates to quit,” Mr. Bezos said at > the time. > > Mr. Appelbaum was not swayed. He said he believed that Amazon had chosen > to make the offer across all of its warehouses when it did in order to help > eliminate possible “yes” votes in Bessemer. > > ADVERTISEMENT > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-4> > > Mr. Biden stopped short of urging the Amazon workers to unionize, but his > statement instantly raised the stakes of an already momentous campaign. > > “Let me be really clear,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s not up to me to decide > whether anyone should join a union. But let me be even more clear: It’s not > up to an employer to decide that, either. The choice to join a union is up > to the workers. Full stop.” > > He added, “Workers in Alabama and all across America are voting on whether > to organize a union in their workplace. This is vitally important — a > vitally important choice.” And it is one, he said, that should be made > without intimidation or threats. > Image > [image: Workers around the country, including Seattle, have expressed > support for the union vote in Alabama.] > Workers around the country, including Seattle, have expressed support for > the union vote in Alabama.Credit...Jason Redmond/Agence France-Presse — > Getty Images > > Despite the union’s suspicions, it has not filed any formal complaints > with the National Labor Relations Board, Mr. Appelbaum said. Typically, > unions can raise objections to a company’s tactics before an election and > the labor board can step in. > > If a complaint were to be filed, the labor board could potentially > determine that the election is invalid because of Amazon’s actions. But > after working for months to build support inside and outside the Amazon > warehouse, the last thing the union wants is for the labor board to > intervene and rule that the election must be held again. > > Mr. Sachs, of Harvard Law School, said that despite Mr. Biden’s > admonishments of companies’ interfering in elections, the current labor law > does allow Amazon to hold certain mandatory meetings with workers to > discuss why they shouldn’t unionize and enables the company to post > anti-union messages around the workplace. > > ADVERTISEMENT > Continue reading the main story > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/business/amazon-union-bessemer-alabama.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-5> > > By pushing back aggressively against the union, Amazon risks angering > Democrats in Washington, many of whom are already calling for more > antitrust scrutiny of big tech companies. Amazon has mounted a public > campaign supporting legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an > hour, buying prominent ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post and > other publications. > > In his video on Sunday, President Biden specifically mentioned how unions > can help “Black and brown workers” and vulnerable workers struggling during > the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. > > Ms. Bates, 48, one of the leaders of the union drive, started working at > the Bessemer warehouse in May. > > She said she felt insulted by some of Amazon’s anti-union efforts, > particularly the company’s statements to the staff that they would be > required to pay nearly $500 in union dues every year. Because Alabama is a > right-to-work state, there is no such requirement that a worker in a > unionized workplace pay dues. > > “It angers me a little bit because I feel like they know the truth and > they won’t tell the truth and are taking advantage because they know > employees come from a community that is looked on as Black and low income,” > said Ms. Bates, who is Black. “It felt really horrible that you would stand > there and mislead people intentionally. Give them the facts and let them > decide.” > > > >
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