Amazon. Warehouse Workers of Inc. in Alabama they are voting on whether to unionize this month. Whatever the outcome, the e-commerce giant faces pressure from staff around the world to make changes to their working conditions.
So far, these actions stop below a formal union push, but each involves hundreds of employees and shows how working conditions in Amazon’s warehouses are increasingly in the spotlight. President Biden and other well-known figures have weighed in on votes in Bessemer, Alabama, among warehouse employees. Senator Bernie Sanders, a frequent critic of Amazon, is scheduled to travel to Alabama on Friday to meet with Amazon workers, a spokesman said. Thousands of votes have already been cast in the election by mail, which concludes on March 29.
None of Amazon’s 800,000 American employees are unionized. A vote to form a union in Alabama would give workers more power to bargain with the company on issues such as pay and benefits.
Elsewhere, Amazon employees hourly collect petition signatures, discuss potential strikes, and consult with unions about possible lawsuits. The groups want to change company policies about how quickly they have to prepare packages, as well as break times and shift schedules, all factors that can turn Amazon into a physically demanding workplace, say the workers. These issues have become apparent to many employees amid Amazon’s expansion and accelerated delivery times.
“It would be a victory for us and bring impetus to others,” Jennifer Bates, a Bessemer worker-organizer, said in an interview. “It would be a starter engine.”