What the union defeat at Amazon means for the labor movement - Yahoo
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., voted against forming a union on Friday in an election that had garnered national attention for what it might signal about the future of the labor movement in America.
The vote came after months of aggressive campaigning by union organizers and a focused anti-union effort from the online retail giant. Had the vote passed, the Bessemer facility would have become home to the first union of Amazon workers in the U.S. The organizing drive drew support from pro-union activists and politicians who believed a successful vote could inspire more workers to unionize and signal a resurgence for organized labor after decades of declining influence in the private sector.
Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer, has been the target of intense criticism by workers’ groups who say employees in the company’s massive fulfillment centers that support its shipping business endure grinding efficiency demands, constant surveillance and heightened injury risk. Labor organizers argued that a union would fight to improve these conditions and raise wages. Amazon countered by saying a union was unnecessary because it already provides good employee benefits and has a companywide $15 minimum wage — more than double the federal rate.
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., voted against forming a union on Friday in an election that had garnered national attention for what it might signal about the future of the labor movement in America.
The vote came after months of aggressive campaigning by union organizers and a focused anti-union effort from the online retail giant. Had the vote passed, the Bessemer facility would have become home to the first union of Amazon workers in the U.S. The organizing drive drew support from pro-union activists and politicians who believed a successful vote could inspire more workers to unionize and signal a resurgence for organized labor after decades of declining influence in the private sector.
Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer, has been the target of intense criticism by workers’ groups who say employees in the company’s massive fulfillment centers that support its shipping business endure grinding efficiency demands, constant surveillance and heightened injury risk. Labor organizers argued that a union would fight to improve these conditions and raise wages. Amazon countered by saying a union was unnecessary because it already provides good employee benefits and has a companywide $15 minimum wage — more than double the federal rate.