Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse.
The National Labor Relations Board has ordered a new election at the site of Amazon. The decision was issued by the regional director overseeing the case and builds on a previous recommendation from the hearing officer assigned to the case.
Monday's decision reads, "I agree with the hearing officer's recommendations." I affirm the hearing officer's rulings, I adopt her recommendation to sustain certain objections, and I order a second election.
I ordered a second election.
The second election will be set in a future filing. If granted, Amazon can request a review of the decision from the full NLRB board, which could prevent the election from taking place or invalidate its results after the fact.
Recent improvements in pay and safety for workers in fulfillment centers were emphasized by Amazon. Amazon employees have always had the option of joining a union or not, and they overwhelmingly chose not to join the RWDSU earlier this year, according to a representative. The votes shouldn't count, that's disappointing.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) hailed the decision as a victory after the February election. Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said that the decision confirms what they had been saying all along.
The RWDSU was defeated in the election by workers who voted 1,798 to 738 against unionization. RWDSU officials claim that Amazon interfered with the election by installing its own mailbox to collect ballots. Some workers thought that Amazon had control of the results because of the access the security guards had to the mailbox.
A number of other unions have expressed interest in organizing Amazon workers, and a second election at the site might face more interest from other labor groups. The campaign to organize Amazon's workforce began on June 24th. The campaign will be successful if the teamsters spend all the resources necessary.
This report was contributed to by ZOE CHINDER.
The statement from Amazon was included in the update.
There is more information about the outcomes of the review process.
