MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Workers at Amazon’s Alabama facility are set to re-evaluate their choice to unionize for the third time in just three years. This decision follows a federal judge’s finding that Amazon improperly influenced the previous election, during which employees voted against union representation.
On Tuesday, Administrative Law Judge Michael Silverstein mandated a third vote for the warehouse workers in Bessemer, located about 20 miles south of Birmingham. His ruling identified six instances of misconduct by Amazon prior to the March 2022 election, prompting the need for a re-vote.
The judge noted in an extensive 87-page ruling that Amazon supervisors closely monitored employees’ union activities and issued threats regarding plant closures if the workforce chose to join the union. Furthermore, Amazon management was found to have removed materials supporting unionization from specific locations, even as materials opposing the union remained accessible.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had also identified improper behavior during the initial election in 2021, which prompted a re-election the following year. This latest ruling is part of an ongoing legal battle involving Amazon and unions advocating for union representation, with several states, California included, imposing fines on the retail giant for labor violations.
Both Amazon and the union involved in the Bessemer elections have announced their intention to appeal Judge Silverstein’s order. Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, supported the court’s conclusion that Amazon had violated labor laws.
However, Appelbaum expressed concerns that without appropriate measures in place, the company could engage in similar unlawful tactics during the third election. The union has sought increased transparency, asking for access to meetings between Amazon representatives and workers and additional training for Amazon supervisors regarding labor regulations. The judge has declined these requests.
Silverstein remarked that while the Bessemer facility employs over a hundred managers, his findings of unfair labor practices were confined to just four individuals who engaged in isolated misconduct. Appelbaum has countered that statement, stating the union would also appeal this determination.
“Amazon must be held accountable, and we’ll be filing accordingly,” Appelbaum asserted. Meanwhile, Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis expressed the company’s strong disagreement with the court’s ruling and confirmed plans for an appeal.
“Our team at BHM1 has already made their choice clear, twice, that they don’t want a Union. This decision is incorrect both factually and legally,” Paradis stated, adding that it was disappointing that the NLRB and RWDSU were attempting to enforce a third vote instead of acknowledging the workforce’s previous decisions.
The Bessemer location, with approximately 6,000 employees, was significant in 2021 for being the largest Amazon facility to vote on unionization in the company’s two-decade history. Since then, similar unionization efforts have surged at various Amazon sites throughout the country.
Workers in Staten Island, New York, achieved successful unionization in 2022, marking the first Amazon union in the United States. However, negotiations between this union and Amazon have yet to commence, hindered by ongoing legal disputes with the second largest employer in the nation.
The push for unionization in Bessemer is particularly challenging, as Alabama is classified as one of the 27 “right-to-work” states, where workers are not obligated to pay dues to a union representing them.
The Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer commenced operations in 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city has a demographic that is over 70% Black, with about a quarter of the population living below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census data.
A new vote will likely be postponed until the court has heard the expected appeals from both Amazon and the union involved.
