Amazon warehouse workers reject forming a union in Alabama | DW News

In a major blow to the organized labor movement in the US, Amazon warehouse workers in the state of Alabama have voted against forming a union. It would have been the first Amazon union in the US.
But on Friday, the ecommerce titan won a resounding victory against the unionization drive led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Workers cast 1,798 votes against a union, while ballots favoring one, came in at 738. Although the vote involved a single Amazon facility in one state, the effort drew much attention and high-profile political support - as it was seen as a bellwether for the future of labor activism - especially in big tech companies.
And staying with labor...the American employment market is bouncing back strongly. Employers hired nearly a million people in March. But Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has warned for months that many jobs lost to the pandemic - aren't going to come back.
In the New York borough of Queens, thousands of residents now depend on food banks. Among them are people who previously donated to such causes - and now - after losing their jobs - rely on charity themselves.
In the line: laid off cleaners, chefs and mechanics. Since the pandemic, the US economy has shed 8.4 million jobs. US Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell warns many of them may never return.

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[Azrael_Garou]

Did anyone really expect anything pro-worker and anti-corporate from a southern conservative state?

[Andrew-obij]

Amazon spent a lot of money to make sure this was the result

[goattm]

Pure insanity. Now watch Amazon double down on its anti employee practices and make them work longer hours for less pay.

[wade]

I grew up in the US. The standard business model in the US is based on exploiting workers. This is the reality in a multitude of industries. Unions are essential if workers want to be treated well and not screwed over.

[ringobarooka]

Im a union worker in a similar warehouse. Believe me, you need a union.

[cravingtuna]

At this moment Americans deserve working in terrible conditions

[thereita]

Fun fact: sweden doesn't have a minimum wage because unions regulate workers wages.

[calvinsylveste]

It's Alabama, the locals are well trained.

[arnevontorgau]

Workers decided to work for poor salaries in poor working conditions. This is america: The poor support the rich boss.

[vrinnmetagen]

American workers are their own worst enemy

[bush]

workers are afraid of retaliation that's why it failed

[bobekvelky]

intimidation, threats and deception and closing the warehouse, fear of loosing their jobs, we never surrender, we fight and we win.

[ioannisfugazi]

Unions have gotten a bad rep through out of touch union bosses who look out for their own pockets at the detriment of union members. The perception of unions has changed so much because of that.

[newyorkwanderer]

I am a union iron worker here in New York City. And I can tell you a lot of ppl are turning against unions because of the rampant corruption.

[TSKseattle]

Those workers now have no right to complain about wages, hours, or work conditions. They just voted "we like working this way"

Some say unions aren't needed, which is true if The Company takes care of it's workers, but companies never do - it costs too much

[joshuaandrew]

It’s a shame we are so divided in America that labor workers cannot come together for the same fight.

[erwinhun]

This is why I don't support Amazon establishing in my country and work actively against them. Pretty close to the middle politically, but bad companies should have bad reputations, so that good companies can be rewarded.

[ThePapawhisky]

We’ve seen this before. Workers vote no union but need tax payers to provide public assistance so they can scrape by. Bigger profit for the shareholders. Less for the workers and tax payers.

[Imawhiteboard]

Different from the north. We understand that union equals more money benefits and better over all treatment of the worker. Never could understand how the south doesn't understand this

[BoggWeasel]

In the USA most limited skills workers are hired without a contract and are hired as "At will" employees. This allows companies to terminate employment immediately and without having to give a reason. There is no payment in lieu of notice or obligation to provide a reference. It's incredibly difficult to prove that you were "let go" for punitive reasons as the company is not obliged to give one. If an employee has an excellent work record and has worked for a number of years at the job, it makes no difference and when an employee is fired, they cannot collect unemployment benefits. All this makes it very difficult to organise a union, which under labour law is a legal entitlement if employees wish to do so, but those who speak up and wish to organise, put a target on their backs will be fired, just about all companies will do just that . The onus will be on the employee to prove they were fired for union organising activities, a very difficult thing to do under the "At will" umbrella. The only way to get a contract of employment that benefits the employee for such things as sick pay, vacation, set hours and pay scale, is having a union, unfortunately, something in certain fields of employment is next to impossible and current labour laws when applied to the letter, benefits the employer and not the employee. Until Fed labour laws are updated and provide better protection for terms and conditions of employment, companies like Amazon, WalMart and many others will be able to employ people at sub par wages while providing minimal to zero benefits of any kind.