US retail union accuses Amazon of interfering in Alabama vote

The union push in Bessemer, Alabama in the United States was the biggest in Amazon’s 26-year history and only the second time one reached a vote.

The United States retail union that failed to organise Amazon workers at an Alabama warehouse wants the results of a recent vote to be thrown out, saying that the company illegally interfered with the process. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) said in a filing that Amazon threatened workers with layoffs and even the closing of the warehouse if they unionised. It also said Amazon fired a pro-union employee but declined to name the person. Many of the other allegations by RWDSU revolve around a mailbox that Amazon installed in the parking lot of the Bessemer warehouse. It said the mailbox created the false appearance that Amazon was conducting the election, intimidating workers into voting against the union. Security cameras in the parking lot could have recorded workers going to the mailbox, giving the impression that workers were being watched by the company and that their votes weren’t private, according to the RWDSU.