Amazon workers in Alabama get union vote for third time after judge finds illegal influence

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Amazon workers in Alabama will decide whether to join a union for the third time in three years after a federal judge ruled that the retail giant improperly influenced the most recent vote in which workers rejected a union.

Administrative Law Judge Michael Silverstein on Tuesday ordered the third round of voting for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Birmingham, after finding that Amazon committed six violations ahead of the March 2022 runoff election.

Amazon managers monitored workers’ union activities and threatened workers with plant closures if they voted to unionize, Silverstein said in an 87-page decision. Amazon managers also removed pro-union material from areas where anti-union material was available, the judge ruled.

The National Labor Relations Board also found improper interference in the first election in 2021, leading to a new election in 2022.

Silverstein’s decision comes after months of testimony and is the latest development in a nationwide legal battle involving Amazon, the National Labor Relations Board and unions. Some states, such as California, have fined the mega-retailer for labor violations.

Both Amazon and the union that organized the vote in Bessemer said they would appeal the judge’s order.

Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union President Stuart Appelbaum confirmed the court’s findings that Amazon violated labor law.

But he also said he believed Amazon would likely commit similar violations in a third election if the court did not order “significant and meaningful action” to protect the vote.

Specifically, the union requested access to private meetings between Amazon representatives and employees, as well as training for Amazon supervisors on labor laws. The judge rejected those requests.

“The record shows that there are more than a hundred managers at BHM1, but my unfair labor practice findings are limited to four managers, each of whom committed isolated unfair labor practices,” the judge ruled, referring to the Bessemer facility.

Appelbaum said the union would appeal the decision.

“Amazon must be held accountable and we will press charges accordingly,” Appelbaum said.

Mary Kate Paradis, a spokesperson for Amazon, said the company strongly disagreed with the court’s ruling and indicated it would appeal.

“Our team at BHM1 has already made it clear twice that they do not want a Union. This decision is both factually and legally incorrect,” Paradis said in a statement. “It is disappointing that the NLRB and RWDSU continue to attempt to force a third round of voting instead of accepting the facts and the will of our team members.”

With about 6,000 employees, Bessemer in 2021 became the largest U.S. facility to vote on unionization in Amazon’s more than 20-year history. Since then, similar fights have occurred at Amazon facilities across the country.

Workers in Staten Island, New York, successfully voted to unionize in 2022, becoming the first Amazon union in the US. But the union has yet to begin negotiating with Amazon amid legal challenges from the country’s second-largest employer.

The effort to unionize in Bessemer in particular has always been seen as an uphill battle: Alabama is one of 27 “right to work” states where workers do not have to pay dues to the unions that represent them.

Amazon’s sprawling fulfillment center in Bessemer opened in 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic began. According to the U.S. Census, the city is more than 70% black and about a quarter of residents live in poverty.

A vote will likely be postponed until after the court hears expected appeals from both sides.