Why Amazon’s Workers Sided With the Company Over a Union

Pay, benefits and an aggressive anti-union campaign by the company helped generate votes at a warehouse in Alabama.

When Graham Brooks received his ballot in early February, asking whether he wanted to form a union at the Amazon warehouse in Alabama where he works, he did not hesitate. He marked the NO box, and mailed the ballot in. After almost six years of working as a reporter at nearby newspapers, Mr. Brooks, 29, makes about $1.55 more an hour at Amazon, and is optimistic he can move up. “I personally didn’t see the need for a union,” he said. “If I was being treated differently, I may have voted differently.”