The union hopes
The union had hoped to break through a recently opened center, just over a year ago, and with 85% African American employees, often more sensitive to the union’s appeal. It leveraged protests over the harsh working conditions, collecting complaints from workers about excessive loads and lack of breaks. According to observers, at stake with a union’s success was above all the mass in question of the great flexibility desired by the company in the management of the workforce, in Bessamer as everywhere in the country, with rapid layoffs and hires in the face of fluctuating demand.
The company’s response
Amazon officially responded to the union’s efforts by pointing out that, in a disadvantaged state such as Alabama, it offers health insurance policies and a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour, double the federal minimum. That employees can have career opportunities. And he claimed the advantages of a “direct connection” of workers with the company, without union filters judged counterproductive.
The obstacles to the union
In the United States, however, unionization campaigns traditionally encounter serious difficulties. Companies have constant access to employees in the workplace, even for pressure and intimidation, while unions cannot be present internally. Federal authorities often have few powers to intervene. In Bessemer’s case, the union criticized the company for organizing an aggressive campaign based on mandatory anti-union meetings for employees, advertisements, posters, text, promotion of anti-union sites. The content of company actions has often been controversial: by voting for the union the workers would have lost their voice, the unions are a business and take your money for nothing. Trade union militants also denounced obstacles to campaigning outside, including the acceleration of traffic lights near the center that would be managed by the company. During the red stop, pro-union workers used to campaign. Amazon is also known for its anti-union messages even in instructional videos for new employees, whether temporary or permanent.
A historical decline
The union is now counting on a growth in popular polls. But the inscriptions remain in historical decline. The unionization rate is 11% in the country and even lower, at 8%, in Alabama. It improves in the public sector as it slips between private companies. Tech companies and digital services in the recent past have ended up in the storm for drastic anti-union behavior, including Google for the dismissal of employees who had organized protests. In that case, the federal authorities found the company wrong.