Mailbox stirs controversy in Amazon union vote
Updated: Feb. 24, 2021, 12:27 p.m. |
Published: Feb. 24, 2021, 12:27 p.m.
This image, supplied by union organizers, shows a mailbox under a tent at Amazon's Bessemer fulfillment center.
William Thornton | wthornton@al.com
Union organizers say a mailbox recently installed at Amazon's Bessemer fulfillment center, along with mailed instructions on how to vote no in an ongoing union vote, are unprecedented tactics to thwart employees seeking to organize.
"We've never seen anything like this before, and it's pretty disgusting," Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU) said today. "Amazon keeps pushing and breaking boundaries in its efforts to prevent its workforce from having a union."
At issue is a mailbox in a tent at the center, along with instructions the union says employees received from Amazon in a flier.
According to Motherboard, workers received a text encouraging them to vote by March 1, in spite of a mail-in ballot deadline of March 29. "Voting has begun! The US Postal Service has installed a secure mailbox just outside the BHM1 main entrance, making mailing your ballot easy, safe, and convenient. Vote now! BE DONE BY 3/1!" the site reported. BHM1 is the name of the fulfillment center.
Here is full coverage of the Alabama Amazon unionization effort
The flyer, which features the Amazon logo, tells employees to watch for their mail-in ballot, and to vote no, instructing workers to "Protect what you have."
In its original election proposal to the National Labor Relations Board, Amazon had proposed conducting the union vote in the center's parking lot under a tent, according to NLRB documents. Amazon, in a statement, said the postal box was installed by the U.S. Postal Service.
"As we have said all along, every employee should have the opportunity to vote in this important decision. This mailbox is enclosed in a tent making it convenient, safe, and private for our employees to vote on their way to and from work if they choose to, or use it for any of their other mailing needs. Only USPS can collect the outgoing mail from this box or put incoming mail into it."
The election currently ongoing with Amazon employees in Bessemer is the largest mail-in election conducted by the NLRB since the COVID-19 pandemic started. More than 5,000 employees at the facility received ballots.
In January, Amazon cited issues with the mail-in balloting related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The online retailer had originally asked for in-person ballots in the center's parking lot over four days. However, the NLRB threw those objections out, saying that in-person voting would require "gatherings of employees, party representatives, and Board personnel for a significant period of time."
Appelbaum said by encouraging employees to use an on-premises mailbox for the election, Amazon is created a pretense of having people vote on-site.
"I think the problem with this box is that it creates all sorts of possibilities for intimidation," he said. "People feel that they are being expected to use this mailbox and they also understand Amazon's ability to survey everything they do. Also they may feel compelled to show supervisors that they're mailing at the facility. People are not sure whether or not Amazon will know how they voted because they know every other thing that goes on at their facility."
The union and other groups have made several allegations that Amazon is attempting to stifle support for organizing among employees. Organizers with the RWDSU accused the company of working with Jefferson County to change traffic lights near the fulfillment center to prevent members from talking to employees. Employees said Amazon has been forcing them into mandatory training sessions where they hear about union dues and how unions will jeopardize their job status.
A coercion complaint was filed this month against the company over a website Amazon created in connection with the union vote. The RWDSU denied filing the complaint. The union also accused Amazon of offering workers a bonus to quit their jobs ahead of the deadline for a union vote.