Amazon won its latest battle against unionisation last night with a clear majority against a high-profile movement in Alabama.
The online giant spent months seeking to dissuade 5,800 staff at its BHM1 fulfilment centre in Bessemer from voting to form its first warehouse union in the United States. It hailed “an opportunity to move from talk to action” after outlets declared its victory.
In the vote 1,798 were found to have voted against calls to form a union, with 738 in favour.
Hundreds of ballots were contested, which had disguised the precise threshold which either side needed to breach to declare victory.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which led the mobilisation effort, promptly pledged to challenge what it called Amazon’s “blatantly illegal conduct” during the campaign and demanded an investigation. In a statement, it said: “Working people deserve better than the way Amazon has conducted itself.”
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Amazon’s majority raises the prospect of a significant victory for the company, which is America’s second largest private employer. The campaign in Bessemer was deemed a potential turning point in its history, with union officials and academics reporting that Amazon workers across the US had expressed interest in following those in Alabama who had mobilised to form a union.
The union alleged that Amazon installed a mailbox for votes on the BHM1 site to intimidate workers.
In a statement, the company said the voices of its workers had now been heard over “a lot of noise”. “It’s easy to predict the union will say that Amazon won this election because we intimidated employees, but that’s not true.”
Shares in the retailer closed up $72.90, or 2.2 per cent, at $3,372.20. It has 1.3 million workers worldwide.
The company went to great lengths to win the vote, distributing text messages, leaflets and fliers to workers and setting up a website.
