United States: in Alabama, Amazon employees face the company's anti-unionism

Amazon employees will vote to form a union in Alabama.

The e-commerce giant is fighting this project (Illustrative image).

© INA FASSBENDER / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Monday, February 8, Amazon's 5,800 employees in Bessemer, Alabama, in the southeastern United States, begin voting to form a union.

The working conditions of the latter have deteriorated with the pandemic and the rise of online commerce.

A first for the e-commerce giant deemed hostile to unionism.

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Virtual elections, due to the pandemic, are under pressure in the face of intimidation from Amazon management, denounces Stuart Appelbaum.

He is president of RWDSU, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union which represents the profession:

 We are flabbergasted by the anti-union campaign led by Amazon

in Alabama

.

They hinted that they would shut down the site if people unionized

, he says

.

They summoned the employees one by one, posted propaganda leaflets everywhere, even in the toilets to persuade them to vote no.

And of course we don't have access to the warehouse to react.

 "

Building national momentum

Stuart Appelbaum is confident, however, as the majority of employees have already expressed their desire to be represented.

We hope to win these elections, but we also know that it will be a long struggle,"

continues the trade unionist.

These are hugely important elections that go beyond the scope of the company and its place, because we don't want Amazon's model of dehumanizing and mistreating workers to be the model for the future of the working world

.

"

A victory in Alabama, he concludes, would be a historic boost for the formation of unions in the 800 Amazon warehouses across the country.

►Also listen: Today the economy - Amazon is already the big winner of containment

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  • United States

  • Unions

  • Social issues

  • Employment and Work

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