“There was no place,” said warehouse employee Jennifer Bates.
When an employee stated that Amazon had found out that its workers were trying to form a union, the company placed the signs in a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, including bathroom stalls.
“There was no place,” said warehouse employee Jennifer Bates.
Ms. Bates, who supports the unionizing effort, described on March 17 how Amazon has been pushing against the company’s biggest unionization efforts since it was founded in 1995 as an online bookstore.
In addition to the signal, she said that Amazon sends employees’ phones and messages to employees to attend meetings several times a week that can last up to about an hour.
Ms. Bates said, “The company will work for us for different reasons because the union was bad for us.” “” If anyone talks and disagrees with what the company is saying, they will close the meeting. ” The stakes are high for Amaze. If the organizers are successful at Bessemer, it could set up a chain reaction in Amazon’s operations across the country, with more workers growing and demanding better working conditions.
Meanwhile, labor advocates are hoping for a win in Alabama. The facility could help advance the labor movement in the South, which is not a hospice for organized labor.
But the organizers face a tough battle. The nation’s second-largest private employer, Amazon, has a history of crushing unionizing efforts at its warehouses and its entire food grocery stores.
Amazon.com Inc. on March 17 Has not denied that it has hung signs in bathrooms or held these mandatory meetings. Instead, it said in a statement that it is following all National Labor Relations Board rules and guidelines in Alabama and it respects employees’ right to form, join or not join a labor union.
The Seattle-based company also said it takes Ms. Bates’ response seriously, but does not believe her remarks represent other employees.
The company said in a statement, “We encourage people to speak with hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees who love their jobs, earn at least $ 15 per hour, receive comprehensive healthcare and leave. Receive benefits. “
About 6,000 workers at the Bessemer warehouse have until the end of March to vote on whether they want to form a union.
St. Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont and Stacey Abrams, a one-time Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia who has become a leading voice on voting rights, has come up with big names in support of the union’s efforts. Last week, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida Republican Matter Black Lives to the organizers. According to the organizers, most of the workers in the warehouse are Black.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden released a two-minute video to workers in Alabama and across the country stating that they had the right to form a union without scaring their companies, but did not directly mention Amazon did.
Ms. Bates, who virtually testified in a hearing before the Senate Budget Committee on March 17, said the warehouse is called “horrific” due to the walk in facility, which is the size of 14 football fields. Ms. Bates said she hopes the union will give more break time, force Amazon to treat workers with respect and pay more than the minimum $ 15 the company currently pays.
“We want Amazon to make it a better place to work. Yet Amazon is acting as if they are attacking, ”said Ms. Bates. “Perhaps if they spend less time and money trying to stop the union they are listening to what we are saying.”
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