{"id":6100,"date":"2022-03-02T13:44:40","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T13:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/?post_type=news&p=6100"},"modified":"2022-03-02T13:51:29","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T13:51:29","slug":"bamazon-seek-to-union","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/bamazon-seek-to-union\/","title":{"rendered":"In Alabama, UNI shows solidarity with Amazon workers seeking to unionize\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Riding a global wave of solidarity, Amazon workers, trade unionists and community allies gathered last Saturday in Bessemer, Alabama to support the historic campaign to organize what it could be the first Amazon union in the United States.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cFrom Germany to Australia to Brazil the United Kingdom and even India \u2013 all over the world, the eyes are on Bessemer right now,\u201d said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union who travelled to Bessemer to support the workers. \u201cWorkers everywhere know that the way Amazon treats its workers will define a future for working people.\u00a0 They know that if you can win a union in Bessemer Alabama, they can win too.\u00a0 They are cheering you on.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For the second time in a year, over 6,000 workers in the fulfillment center will be voting on whether or not to form a union with RWDSU in the coming weeks. In the United States, a majority of voters must vote YES in order for a union to become recognized.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt feels like we have to remove our emotions in order to get that job done because we have to meet the quota and the productivity rates that management has set upon us,\u201d said Isaiah Thomas, an Amazon worker. “We have to meet those every step of the way instead of actually working together to get the job done and caring about for one another.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to the workers, the company is running round the clock captive audience meetings and deploying anti-union consultants to persuade the workers to vote NO, but the workers are not buying it. \u201cIt\u2019s our time, not just here in Alabama, in the city of Bessemer, in all of the United States,\u201d said Jennifer Bates who works at the Bessemer fulfilment centre and has been an early supporter of the campaign.\u00a0It\u2019s time for us to take a stand and it\u2019s time for us to speak out for unfair wages, unfair dignity.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Standing not far from the stage were members of the United Mine Workers of America, which is currently engaged in a strike almost 11 months old in nearby Tuscaloosa County.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a mine worker who has been on strike at Warrior Met and I\u2019m an employee at BHM1. All we want is dignity and respect for the workforce. We deserve a safe workplace and to be fairly compensated for our labor.\u201d said Braxton.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Other speakers included Liz Shuler, the President of the AFL-CIO, the Presidents of the Alabama State Labour Council, a bus load of trade unionists from neighboring Georgia, Stuart Appelbaum, the President of the RWDSU and Ruben Cortina, President UNI Global Union. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou have captured the attention of not just the country but the world,\u201d Shuler said. \u201cAnd something is happening in this country. Do you feel it? Working people are standing up across this country. They\u2019ve sacrificed during this pandemic, they\u2019ve worked overtime, they\u2019ve been called essential but treated as dispensable.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum compared Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to \u201csome spoiled space cowboy on a joyride\u201d for his highly publicized rocket trips. \u201cOnly by coming together do working people have the strength to make their jobs better, their lives more secure and their future brighter,\u201d he said. \u201cAmazon knows this, and that\u2019s why they are fighting so hard to stop it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Just last week, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) filed Unfair Labour Practice charges (ULPs) against Amazon claiming that it has engaged in misconduct during the re-run union election in Bessemer, Alabama. This is the second set of ULP charges by the Union, showing a continuance of the company\u2019s conduct aimed at interfering with the right of employees to organize. This rerun election is the result of the company\u2019s objectionable conduct under the National Labour Relations Act (NLRA) during the first election, conduct which the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) concluded interfered with employees\u2019 rights to a free and fair election. All the charges highlight examples of Amazon\u2019s continued efforts to undermine and suppress workers\u2019 right to a free and fair election. Despite the adversity, workers of the BAmazon Union continue to fight to ensure their democratic rights at work are respected and Amazon is held accountable for its outrageous behaviour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cI come from Argentina and I speak on behalf of my brothers and sisters from around Latin America, I can tell you now, everyone knows where Bessemer, Alabama is because of BAmazon workers,” said Ruben Cortina, UNI Global Union President.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Riding a global wave of solidarity, Amazon workers, trade unionists and community allies gathered last Saturday in Bessemer, Alabama to support the historic campaign to organize what it could be the first Amazon union in the United States.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cFrom Germany to Australia to Brazil the United Kingdom and even India \u2013 all over the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":6101,"template":"","categories":[41],"global-issues":[],"sectors":[11],"cross-sector-groups":[],"workers-rights":[31],"regions":[86],"topics":[48],"class_list":["post-6100","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","sectors-commerce","workers-rights-uni-amazon-global-union-alliance","regions-uni-americas","topics-amazon"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn Alabama, UNI shows solidarity with Amazon workers seeking to unionize\u00a0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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