Coup de theatre, but not too much. The eagerly awaited referendum among the employees of an Amazon plant in Alabama, called to express themselves on the willingness to be represented by a trade union, has given a negative result: the workers, at least for now and at least those of Alabama, don't want to hear about it. The victory of the No was overwhelming (more than double the yes votes) and for the patron Jeff Bezos it is a very important point: therefore everything remains as before, with the Seattle company free to dictate its own rules, apparently accepted by employees but very often considered too severe and at the limit of sustainability.
Of the 6.000 employees of the plant about 55% voted and the no obtained over 1.798 votes out of 3.041, winning the majority. 738 workers voted in favor of unionization, while 505 ballots were contested and therefore not counted. But even if they had been included in the calculation the result would not have changed. A Yes victory would instead have been an epochal turning point, it would have represented a precedent full of significance for a group that has offices and warehouses all over the world, obviously including in Italy where, moreover, it has been expanding in recent months.
The unions accept the defeat but denounce an incorrect attitude on the part of Amazon during the referendum campaign: "We will urge the Federal Labor Law Agency to ask Amazon to account for its illegal behavior during the campaignsaid Stuart Appelbaum, president of Rwdsu, the distribution union. Amazon has defended its case against unionization for months by hammering employees with texts, posters and weekly briefings, while pro-union employees complained of hellish pace, lack of time to go to the bathroom or to eat, lack of safety protections (especially against Covid-19) and insufficient wages for the work required.
In the end, Bezos won, who among other things recalled that wages start at $15 an hour (more than double the minimum wage in Alabama) and which provides social benefits, such as health coverage. But the unions are not there and announce an appeal: "Amazon knew that if it hadn't done everything possible, including illegal activity, its workers would have chosen the union", says Stuart Appelbaum again.
