Employees of the technology giant Amazon are finally looking into forming a Union based in the United States. Amazon warehouse workers from a location in Alabama are putting the decision to a vote in the upcoming months.
Amazon is one of the largest technology companies in the world, with services ranging from an online marketplace to making a Lord of the Rings MMO. Though located in Seattle, Washington the business has a multinational reach and customers all over the globe make use of its benefits. Despite this, poor conditions have pushed Amazon employees to unionize. While there are European Amazon unions, this would be the first one in the United States.
Specifically, these employees are voting to decide whether they will join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. The vote itself will be taking place between February 8 and March 29, and via mail due to pandemic concerns. Putting unionizing to a vote could not happen until after the retail workers union established who is able to vote. Fortunately, both parties chose to include Amazon’s seasonal workers in the vote, a number reaching the hundreds.
While Amazon benefits from massive success worldwide, employees are no strangers to striking, even on Prime Day, to improve conditions. First and foremost, the main union website seeks to hold the company accountable when it comes to safer working conditions. This attempt at unionizing also hopes to change worker employment status from “at-will” to “just cause.” This would require Amazon to prove an employee violated company policy before termination. Overall, changes to disciplining, dismissal, and safety are the main goals if workers vote to join the retail union.
This news may come as a surprise, due to the taboo nature of union talk in the United States. Amazon has especially been anti-union, fending off any attempts by workers in America to pursue this route. Even in comparison to Google, which just got its first union. Without a union, workers have little recourse in bargaining for better conditions. If the employees in Alabama choose to join the retail union, it could potentially open up the possibility of other locations doing the same.
That said, Amazon does tout its high employment numbers, good pay, and valuable benefits provided to workers. The company suggests that of the millions of workers currently performing, those arguing to unionize only represent a small faction. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether the actions in Alabama will actually result in any changes for locations across the country. Improvements are not assured, like when Blizzard unions called for strikes. Regardless, if these Amazon workers unionize, it would be a historic change for the company in the United States.
Source: NPR
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