After a day of counting, the Amazon union drive at a Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse is still up in the air.
Though 6,153 workers were eligible to vote, 1,868 valid votes were counted Thursday — 875 voted “yes” to being represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) while 993 voted “no.” These results seem to suggest a loss for the union, but the election’s not over yet — 416 challenged votes are still on the table, so a hearing will likely determine the ultimate result of the election.
That hearing will be scheduled in the coming weeks. There’s not a guarantee that the hearing will be necessary — theoretically, the RWDSU and Amazon could get together and agree on challenged votes — but it’s likely.
Unfair labor practice charges have already been filed in this case, possibly echoing concerns that undermined Amazon’s victory in an earlier union vote in Bessemer in 2021. In April, the NLRB ordered a new election, citing concerns surrounding a mailbox and Amazon-distributed “vote no” accessories.
Previously, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, along with pro-union Amazon workers, told Yahoo Finance that a different strategy and a new set of grievances energized the campaign, and that new strategy seems to have paid off. By how much? Time will tell, but Thursday’s vote marked a major upswing in pro-union votes as compared to the first election in Bessemer. In the first election, the 738 votes cast for the union were crushed by the 1,798 votes cast against.
It’s remarkable that the election is closer this time around, according to Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor expert at Cornell University. In a separate union drive in Staten Island, New York, early results showed that workers were learning toward unionizing. Counting in that vote is set to resume on Friday.
“Often, union support will go down in a second election due to retaliation,” Campos-Medina said, noting that workers can feel demoralized. “The union must have done a great job keeping workers informed. I’m really excited about how things have gone today in both Bessemer and Staten Island and, who knows, we’ll see how things go tomorrow.”
Bessemer isn’t alone
Neither of the simultaneous union elections exists in a vacuum, and how one resolves could perhaps have implications for the other. Both will have meaning for workers across the country and, in Bessemer’s case, particularly in the South.
“In the scope of Black organizing in the South, this is a continued swing upwards,” said Tamara Lee, a Rutgers University labor expert. “I’m optimistic, this is not the type of labor organizing we expect to see in the South in the modern era. Domino effects are real, and I don’t think there’s a bigger target for the labor movement than Amazon… If they can get this close in Bessemer, if they win in Staten Island, workers will start to decide they can do it anywhere.”
Regardless of the final outcome in Bessemer, the election’s sheer closeness matters.
“I don’t think they will stop, if it’s not a victory, it’ll be a close one,” said Maite Tapia, a Michigan State University labor expert, who frequently works with Lee.
“This is good for the union either way,” said Lee. “This is a major improvement and there’s any number of ways this could resolve in the union’s favor, whether it’s a union victory or a new election.”
In a statement previously provided to Yahoo Finance, Amazon said it eagerly awaits the results of the union election in Bessemer. “We look forward to having our employees’ voices heard,” spokesperson Kelly Nantel said. “Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”
Max Zahn is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Find him on twitter @MaxZahn_.
Allie Garfinkle is a senior tech reporter at Yahoo Finance. Find her on twitter @agarfinks.
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