An Amazon website called “Do It Without Dues” urges workers at its Bessemer, Ala., warehouse to “KNOW THE FACTS” about a union vote. “An authorization card or online form is LEGALLY BINDING and may obligate you to PAY monthly dues immediately from YOUR PAYCHECK,” the site says. “There are no free trials.”
The site, launched in mid-January, does not mention that Alabama is a right to work state, keeping workers in union shops from being required to pay dues.
That’s one of the ways Amazon has opposed unionization efforts at the facility. More than 5,800 workers in Alabama are currently voting by mail on whether to organize under the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It’s a pivotal vote that could set the tone, if not a precedent, for hundreds of thousands of Amazon workers.
President Joe Biden is now weighing in. Biden issued a video statement on Sunday, pointing out that the National Labor Relations Act was established not just to enable but to encourage collective bargaining.
Workers in Alabama – and all across America – are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It’s a vitally important choice – one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.
Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union. pic.twitter.com/2lzbyyii1g
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 1, 2021
“It’s not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union,” Biden said. “But let me be even more clear. It’s not up to an employer to decide that, either. The choice to join a union is up to the workers — full stop. Full stop.”
Without mentioning Amazon by name, he added, “Today and over the next few days and weeks, workers in Alabama and all across America are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace.”
He called it a “vitally important choice” amid the pandemic, economic crisis, and a racial reckoning highlighting the county’s deep disparities. “And there should be no intimidation, no coercion, no anti-union propaganda. No supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences,” he said.
The company’s activities in Alabama have reportedly included mandatory meetings with anti-union messages, and fliers inside bathroom stalls, making them unavoidable. The Washington Post cited an Amazon employee who said a manager challenged him and took a picture of his badge, which he took as an intimidation tactic, after he spoke in favor of the union at a meeting.
Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch removed its parent company’s anti-union ads last week, citing a policy against political advertising.
NEW: Amazon is running glossy anti-union ads to combat the organizing drive by workers at their Bessemer, AL, warehouse. An Alabama resident said this spot is one of several that Amazon is now running on Twitch. pic.twitter.com/6WlojetvzY
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) February 23, 2021
We’ve contacted Amazon seeking comment on Biden’s statement. Mail-in voting in Bessemer continues until March 29.
Lichtenstein is one of the key labor historians, so when he says "nothing like it before," he knows of what he speaks. ???? https://t.co/K7b325Mgnm
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) March 1, 2021
Previously: Amazon has avoided unions for 25 years — here’s why labor leaders think that could soon change