Alabama Amazon Workers Voting to Unionize
- Sarra Alwani
- Feb 25, 2021
- 3 min read
Covid-19 has taken a toll on everyone's lives. During the pandemic, people have turned to online shopping and delivery in order to prevent going out during the pandemic. One company that has had a huge spike in business due to the pandemic is Amazon. In order to provide efficient customer service to all their recipients, Amazon has instilled new facilities and the pressure upon Amazon workers has been bigger than ever. How will the amazon workers react? Let's find out.
Pressure
Working 7 days a week with long hours and overtime, the workers have reached an ultimate breaking point. It was time for a decision to be made. Employees at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama have decided to vote upon whether they should become the first of the company’s U.S. employees to unionize. This was a hard decision to make due to the fact that the only other Amazon workers who wanted to unionize were a group of employees in Delaware that took place in 2014.
The Delaware Amazon worker’s attempt to unionize was unsuccessful. Their efforts went in vain due to an anti-union campaign, which was organized by a company that has long been hostile to worker organizing.
BHM1
The warehouse in Bessemer is also known as BHM1. The workers have been increasingly vocal about how they have not been able to take part in the company’s success and shares. The workers came to the conclusion that if they do succeed in unionizing, it would give them the power to negotiate a contract that could lock in permanent changes to wages and working conditions. It will ultimately inspire other Amazon workers to become more organized in the companies.
According to BHM1, one of the primary issues that arises is the union push will create automatic enforcements of productivity metrics. This was already a previous complaint that ultimately had prompted demonstrations at many other Amazon facilities as well.
Darryl Richardson is a worker at BHM1. Richardson was labeled as being a “picker” which means that he removes products from shelves that robots bring to his station, scans them, and then sends them in for shipment. One of the things that Richardson felt uneasy about is TOT, which means “time of task”. Whenever a worker was not spending time scanning and shipping out products, it was counted as a TOT. This even included when the worker would use the restroom.
Richardson told BHM1 that with the TOT issue, among others, it was very hard being a consistent amazon worker. Keeping up with the time and being fast with scanning/shipping was a pressure that many could not bear. Richardson is in favor of the union, yet wanted it to be kept anonymous due to Amazon’s reputation for how they deal with people who try to unionize.
Amazon’s Reaction
Amazon quickly decided that they would fight back. Amazon launched a website containing warnings that said that if a worker is in favor of the union, that worker would be legally obligated to pay dues. Also included in the website was an animation of happy Amazon workers in hopes of portraying that Amazon is an employee-friendly company.
Overall, unionization had failed in the eyes of many workers. This does not mean that they have given up. The workers are still fighting for their rights and trying to find a sweet spot within Amazon.
Your Role
Whenever we come across topics such as this one, we need to use our voice the best we can. The first step in the right direction would be to keep educating yourself in order to stay updated on issues that impact the world. Staying educated will not only help you to understand the significant events occurring in the world but will also open up a door to empathizing with and taking action for people who are facing problems that we may not have to deal with due to our privilege.
The next step is to stay positive and practice various self-care activities in order to stay calm and clear-headed. We need to work on ensuring that we are mentally healthy and optimistic. This will help us to see the matter from a solution-focused perspective. Try to not let negativity hinder the steps you take towards making a difference.
Lastly, reach out and educate others as well. Spread awareness about the issue and discuss possible solutions within your community.
Source
Harris, M. (2021, February 11). The Amazon Warehouse union vote in Alabama is a big deal. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://slate.com/technology/2021/02/alabama-amazon- union-vote-warehouse-workers-essemer.html
Dzieza, J. (2021, February 08). Alabama warehouse Workers prepare to face down Amazon in union vote. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/8/22272213/amazon-union-bhm1-alabama-rwdsu-vote-begins
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