Aug 2, 2021
Amazon Union Election Should Be Re-Run, Labor Official Says
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- A federal official has recommended overturning the results of a union election at an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in Alabama, giving the retail union an opportunity to reverse its defeat, according to a person familiar with the issue.
After losing the election in April, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union appealed the outcome to the National Labor Relations Board, setting in motion a contentious hearing in May that was presided over by NLRB hearing officer Kerstin Myers.
The union has accused Amazon of making anti-union threats, firing an employee for distributing union cards and pressuring workers to cast their votes in a mailbox the company had installed in a tent on its Bessemer, Alabama, property, in view of surveillance cameras. Amazon denied any wrongdoing.
Myers has recommended the election be run again, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the recommendation isn’t yet public. Once the recommendation from Myers is official, it will be considered by a labor board regional director and Amazon has the right to appeal the ruling to an NLRB panel in Washington. If a new election is called, it could happen later this year.
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