Amazon unionization vote: What does it mean for employers?
The unionizing efforts at Amazon are part of a growing trend nationwide, with higher than usual success rates by unions.
Amazon has long been able to find ways to fend off attempts by workers to unionize – until now.
By a 2,654 to 2,131 vote, employees of an Amazon fulfillment center in New York City voted for the Amazon Labor Union as their certified representative. The effort started in 2020, when employees organized a walk-out in response to a lack of worker protection against COVID-19. Amazon employee Christian Small and a coworker founded the union an effort to secure higher pay, better medical benefits, anti-discrimination policies and more-expansive leave.
Two additional Amazon unionizing efforts currently are under way. Amazon has a narrow vote lead in a union election being conducted (for the second time) at its Bessemer, Ala., warehouse. However, with 416 challenged ballots, the outcome is still too close to call. And an organizing election is scheduled for April 25 at a second New York City facility.
Related: Effective response to possible union organizing efforts post-pandemic
The unionizing efforts at Amazon are part of a growing trend nationwide, with higher than usual rates of success by unions. For example, 10 Starbucks locations have had union elections, with the unions winning nine of the contests. Employers need to be aware of the trend and take steps to create a positive work environment, according to XpertHR.
“A dissatisfied workforce is ripe for a union organizing campaign,” said Robert S. Teachout, the company’s legal editor. “One of the biggest mistakes an employer can make is to not take employee complaints seriously. Listening to employees respectfully, investigating complaints and following up with answers, and making changes to the extent possible when appropriate can go a long way toward maintaining employee satisfaction.”
The successful effort in New York featured innovative tactics. Unlike traditional unions, the Amazon Labor Union relied almost entirely on current and former workers rather than professional organizers in its campaign at the Staten Island warehouse. For financing, it turned to GoFundMe appeals rather than union coffers built from the dues of existing members. It spread the word in a break room and at low-key barbecues outside the warehouse.
In the end, the approach succeeded where far bigger, wealthier and more established unions have repeatedly fallen short.
“It’s sending a wake-up call to the rest of the labor movement,” Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, told the New York Times. “We have to be homegrown — we have to be driven by workers — to give ourselves the best chance.”
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