Amazon workers in Alabama will have third labor union vote after judge finds illegal influence
Amazon workers in Alabama will have the opportunity decide whether to unionize for the third time in three years
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Amazon workers in Alabama will decide for the third time in three years whether to unionize after a federal judge ruled that the retail giant improperly influenced the most recent vote in which employees rejected a union.
Administrative law judge Michael Silverstein on Tuesday ordered the third vote for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Birmingham, after determining that Amazon committed six violations leading up to the second election in March 2022.
Amazon managers surveilled employees' union activities and threatened workers with plant closure if they voted with the union, Silverstein said in an 87-page decision. Amazon managers also removed pro-union materials from areas where anti-union materials were available, the judge determined.
The National Labor Relations Board also found improper interference in the first election in 2021, leading to the redo in 2022.
