Amazon warehouse workers overwhelmingly rejected a union. Now they may vote again

[Omaha Steve]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-warehouse-workers-overwhelmingly-rejected-005647089.html

Nandita Bose and Jeffrey Dastin
Mon, August 2, 2021, 7:56 PM

(Reuters) - A U.S. labor board official has recommended a rerun of a landmark Amazon.com Inc union election in Alabama where employees had voted overwhelmingly against making their warehouse the online retailer's first to organize in the United States.

In the coming weeks, a regional director for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board will decide whether to order the rerun based on this recommendation, said an official on Monday with the board who asked not to be named.

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which workers rejected joining earlier this year by a more than 2-1 margin, had said Amazon illegally threatened staff with reduced benefits and compromised the election's integrity via a ballot collection box it secured outside the warehouse.

The labor official's recommendation in support of a new election focused on problems with the collection box, a person familiar with the matter said. Reuters has not seen a copy of the recommendation, which a labor board official said may be released Tuesday.

FULL story at link above.

[quaint]

1. NLRB Hearing Officer Recommends New Election at Amazon in Bessemer

RWDSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2021

Contact: Chelsea Connor | [e-mail] | 347-866-6259

NLRB HEARING OFFICER RECOMMENDS NEW ELECTION AT AMAZON IN BESSEMER, ALABAMA

Workers Await Formal Decision on Objections and Direction of a Second Election

(BESSEMER, AL) – Today, the hearing officer for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) formally submitted her initial recommendation on the Objections filed by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The union had charged Amazon with illegal misconduct during the union vote in Bessemer, Alabama. In a final step towards a formal decision, the Hearing Officer who presided over the case has determined that Amazon violated labor law; and is recommending that the Regional Director set aside the results of the election and direct a second election.

Workers endured an intensive anti-union campaign designed by Amazon to intimidate and interfere with their choice on whether or not to form a union. Today’s recommendation is based on Amazon’s illegal tactics and shows how the company was willing to use any and all tactics, illegal or otherwise, to stop workers from forming a union. Workers now await a formal Decision on Objections from the Regional Director, which would include a Direction of a Second Election if the hearing officer’s recommendation is adopted.

Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) issued the following statement in support of the initial recommendation:

“Throughout the NLRB hearing, we heard compelling evidence how Amazon tried to illegally interfere with and intimidate workers as they sought to exercise their right to form a union. We support the hearing officer’s recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election. As President Biden reminded us earlier this year, the question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers’ decision and not the employer’s. Amazon’s behavior throughout the election process was despicable. Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable.”

NOTE: Please contact the NLRB directly and follow their procedures to potentially receive a copy of the recommendation.

Big hopes.