Federal Labor Official Recommends Alabama Amazon Workers Hold New Vote, Union Says

Both Amazon and the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, which ran the unionization campaign in Bessemer, Ala., may file responses to the recommendation from Kerstin Meyers, the NLRB official who heard testimony from workers during an appeal hearing in May.

The NLRB hadn’t made Ms. Meyers’ recommendation public as of late Monday afternoon. It could be released as early as Tuesday after the NLRB looks at redacting any materials it may deem sensitive. The board lists filings on its website, but they often have to pass through Freedom of Information Act requests to be released.

An Amazon spokeswoman said employees “had a chance to be heard during a noisy time when all types of voices were weighing into the national debate, and at the end of the day, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of a direct connection with their managers and the company.” Amazon will appeal the recommendation, she said.

The union, known as the RWDSU, said that Ms. Meyers found that Amazon’s actions in the election process violated labor law. The union has accused Amazon of intimidating workers, a charge the company denied.

“The question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers’ decision and not the employer’s,” RWDSU President

Stuart Appelbaum

said Monday. “Amazon cheated, they got caught and they are being held accountable.”

Roughly 71% of workers who voted rejected the union. Amazon denied any wrongdoing and said it followed all laws and didn’t intimidate workers. The company has said the union misrepresented the facts rather than accepting the choice of employees.

During the appeal hearing, some employees recalled meetings in which Amazon representatives said workers could see reduced pay and benefits if unionization prevailed.

Amazon representatives also said wages and benefits wouldn’t be guaranteed under a union, employees testified. Amazon’s starting wage is $15 an hour, and the company also offers healthcare and 401(k) options.

“They said, ‘everything is on the table,’ ” Emmit Ashford, a worker at the facility, testified during the hearing. Other employees said they heard from co-workers that the facility could shut down if workers voted to unionize.

Amazon lawyers pointed out in the appeal hearing that discussions of pay and benefits at meetings ahead of the union vote revolved around the prospect of negotiations and that wages or benefits could change during such a process. Some workers noted that discussions at meetings included possible raises if the union succeeded.

Some employees also said in the hearing that they felt uncomfortable about the extent of Amazon’s surveillance during the vote. The company uses cameras and other technology to monitor worker productivity, but employees said they were concerned such practices may have affected voting. The company also sent workers text messages to discourage them from voting for the union. The RWDSU also texted employees and sent them leaflets through the mail.

A central issue in the appeal was a mailbox near the facility, which Amazon had asked the U.S. Postal Service to install. An employee named Kevin Jackson testified that Amazon security guards had access to the mailbox next to the facility that had been available for ballot submission and that on at least one occasion, he witnessed the guards use keys to open the mailbox.

Amazon has said it asked the Postal Service to install the collection box as a convenience to employees and that only the Postal Service had access to ballots. During the hearing, lawyers representing the company pointed out that using the mailbox was optional.

There are several actions employers aren’t allowed to take in union elections, including threatening staff with the loss of jobs or the closing of a facility. Employers also can’t promise employees benefits to sway their vote or punish workers for engaging with a union, according to U.S. labor laws.

The labor board has discretion in determining if a company’s actions were illegal, according to labor attorney Charlotte Garden from Seattle University. After the election, the NLRB is tasked with verifying testimony and evidence presented, but they may also consider how employees understood the intention of their employer, she said.

“There are hard calls,” Ms. Garden said. “It’s like a jury hearing testimony after the fact and trying to piece together the intention.” The decision depends on the NLRB’s “impressions and beliefs on what most likely happened.”

Either party can request a review of the regional director’s decision to the labor board in Washington, D.C. Chairwoman

Lauren McFerran

is the only Democrat on the five-person board, with one seat currently vacant.

The results in Bessemer were a major setback for labor activists, who had hoped a victory could have energized many other Amazon warehouses to push for unionization.

Jeff Bezos,

Amazon’s founder and chairman, said in April he aims for the company to improve its relationship with workers. Amazon recently announced a program to educate employees about body mechanics and well-being while at work and at home, and in April gave raises of between 50 cents and $3 an hour to more than 500,000 employees.

Unions have continued to target the company despite the poor results in Bessemer. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of America’s largest labor unions, in June approved a resolution aimed at helping Amazon workers achieve a union contract. The resolution, which establishes a motive to create a special division to organize workers at the company, will be used to mobilize resources and staff toward the cause, the group said.

Write to Sebastian Herrera at [email protected]