Amazon is pushing for a landmark union vote in person despite the pandemic

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The e-commerce giant filed a motion Thursday to delay union elections, which will begin Feb. 8, so the NLRB can reconsider its decision to hold the election by email over nearly two years. months instead of person event.

The NLRB declined to comment on Amazon’s request.

The union vote is an important moment for Alabama facilities and for Amazon (AMZN). Although some Amazon workers are unionized in Europe, the company has so far defended unions in the United States. A union election was held in a Delaware warehouse in 2014, but workers largely rejected the effort.

The NLRB said last week that approximately 6,000 employees at Amazon’s facility in Bessemer, Alabama, would vote by mail, pointing out the health risks of the pandemic.

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“An election by email will entitle employees who are unable to enter the polling station for health reasons or for positive COVID testing to be deductible,” the NLRB decision said. “In addition, postal voting elections will protect the health and safety of voters, Agency staff, party representatives and the public during the current health crisis.”

However, in files filed this week, Amazon said the NLRB’s decision on its choice does not specify what is considered an “outbreak.” Amazon said NLRB interim regional director Lisa Henderson “came to the remarkable conclusion that any level of infection or potential infection among employees is considered an ‘outbreak.'”

Amazon said that at its Bessemer facility, 2.88% of the 7,575 employees and third-party workers at the facility (or 218 people) tested positive during the 14-day period ending on July 7. gener. Amazon rejected the idea that this would be considered an outbreak.

“If true, the facilities will be in a constant state of ‘outbreak’ unless and until the virus disappears, without manual elections until that unknown time,” the archive said, citing that an e-mail election could “deprive tens of hundreds of voters of rights” because it is imperfect.

In the NLRB decision last week, Henderson noted that Jefferson County, where the facility is located, had a positivity rate of more than 17% as of Jan. 11, citing data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The NLRB said in November that mail-in elections “would normally be appropriate” if it increases the number of confirmed cases in the county or if it is greater than or equal to 5%. In its presentation, Amazon said that decision “reflected the assumptions developed comparatively earlier in the pandemic.”

In a statement to CNN Business, Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox said the company believes that “the best approach to a valid, fair and successful election is done manually, in person, which makes it easier for partners to verify and vote.” very close to their place of work “.

“Amazon provided the NLRB with a secure, confidential, and convenient proposal for partners to vote on-site, which is in the best interests of all parties: convenience of partners, vote fidelity, and punctuality of the vote count,” Knox said in the statement. “We will continue to insist on measures for a fair election and we want everyone to vote, so our focus is to ensure that it is possible.

The union momentum comes as the working conditions of the Amazon warehouse have been under intense control during the pandemic. The company has hired hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide to support increased demand. Several warehouse workers have been talking about security issues since the beginning of the pandemic.
Facility workers first filed a notice in November with the NLRB about holding an election to unionize with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store (RWDSU) Union.
“Having a union on Amazon would give us the right to bargain collectively over our working conditions, including items such as safety rules, training, rest, pay, benefits, and other important issues that would improve our workplace,” he says. a website in support of syndicating Amazon Bessemer workers.

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