US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh does not think Amazon has seen the end of efforts to unionize its warehouse workers.
Walsh says labor organizing within the e-commerce titan and other large companies is likely to continue, although employees at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse voted against joining a union last week.
“I don’t think you can judge Labour’s fate on one vote,” Walsh Told the Wall Street Journal In an interview published Wednesday, noting that the Alabama union election was for the first time activists at the Amazon Fulfillment Center.
“I think other companies in the country as well as Amazon will have other conversations going forward,” he said.
A closely watched Bessemer vote marked a victory for Amazon – which aggressively campaigned against the union push – and a loss for the retail, wholesale and department store union that represented warehouse workers.
According to the National Labor Relations Board, out of 3,041 employees who cast ballots, only 738 voted in favor of joining the union, while 1,798 voted against the union.
The unilateral result came despite strong support for the union campaign of labor groups and political celebrities, including President Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Marco Rubio.
In his Tuesday interview with the Journal, Walsh said he respected the rights of employees to reach their own decisions about joining the union, but emphasized that all workers should discuss workplace policies and conditions For “are worth a seat at the table”.
He also called Amazon employees “upset” over their working conditions. Warehouse employees have complained about the horrific quota that sometimes they are forced to urinate in bottles.
“Every worker in every company should have workplace safety,” Walsh told the Journal.
Asked for comment, Amazon mentioned a blog post published after the vote last week about how it treats workers.
“Our employees are the heart and soul of Amazon, and we have always worked hard to listen to them, seek their feedback, continuously improve and invest heavily to offer great salaries and benefits in a safe and inclusive workplace,” Company wrote Friday.
Amazon also dismissed RWDSU’s allegations that it intimidated employees to vote. The union has accused Amazon of interfering in the voting process, saying it will file a complaint with the NLRB seeking a hearing “to determine whether the results of the election should be set aside.”
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