Amazon Workers In Bessemer To Vote For Possible Unionization

BESSEMER, AL — More than 5,000 workers at the Amazon fulfillment warehouse in Bessemer were sent ballots Monday asking if they want to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

The election runs through March 29. Employees notified federal labor authorities in November of their plans to hold a unionization vote.

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said in an interview with NPR in January that more than half the workers in Bessemer had signed cards in support of union representation. Appelbaum said that workers at the facility had reached out to the union over the summer, months after the facility had opened in March in the early days of the pandemic.

If the Bessemer employees approve unionizing, this would be the first Amazon facility to join a union. The Bessemer vote is the first warehouse union vote since a group of technicians in Delaware voted against unionizing in 2014.

Sen. Bernie Sanders commented on social media Monday that he was supportive of Alabama's efforts to unionize.

"It cannot be overstated how powerful it will be if Amazon workers in Alabama vote to form a union," Sanders said via Twitter. "They are taking on powerful anti-union forces in a strong anti-union state, but their victory will benefit every worker in America. I’m proud to stand with them."

Amazon has opposed the efforts to unionize since the workers informed the retail giant of their intentions in November to vote on the matter.

"Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire, and we encourage anyone to compare our overall pay, benefits, and workplace environment to any other company with similar jobs,"Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski said.