A second election at an Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama is set to kick off starting February 4th, according to notices posted by the National Labor Relations Board last week. This election is a redo of last year’s publicized election between the logistics company and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union at the warehouse, the results of which were ruled invalid when the board found that Amazon had violated multiple labor laws in pursuit of winning the election.
The order for a second vote was handed down by the board late last year, after ruling that Amazon’s conduct was judged to be an interference in the exercise of a free and fair union election. The board made specific note of Amazon’s placement of a USPS mailbox in front of the Bessemer warehouse for mail-in ballot collection, as well as Amazon’s improper polling of employee’s support during involuntary meetings.
The second election, like the first, will be carried out by mail and supervised by the NLRB. The RWDSU made specific remedy requests to the NLRB before the notice of a second election was issued, requests which they say were not fulfilled by the board. The union expressed concern in a subsequent statement that “the decision fails to adequately prevent Amazon from continuing its objectionable behavior in a new election.”
One remedy specifically requested by the RWDSU was that the second election be held at an off-site location where employees couldn’t be surveilled, and the NLRB would have more control. Conversely, Amazon asked for an on-site election and said it would provide “a large, climate-controlled tent in the parking lot” where its employees could vote. Both sides and the NLRB used specific trends in the pandemic to justify their requests and decisions, but the Board had final say over the methods of voting.
Ballots for the second vote are expected no later than March 25th, with a count of received ballots starting on the 28th.
Reporting Courtesy of Sean Hagerup
Photo Courtesy of Eddie on Flickr