The union election that took place at the Alabama fulfillment center will have to be done again. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 10 Director, Lisa Henderson, ordered Amazon to hold another vote due to the fact that the US Postal Service mailbox in front of the warehouse was used to collect ballots.
Workers voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The company was accused of interfering with the elections by the RWDSU. One of the complaints pointed out that the ballot box was installed without the approval of the National Labor Relations Board and that the security cameras made workers feel like they were being watched. The labor relations board found that Amazon interfered with the election by installing a mailbox and offering employees anti-union signs.
The documents ordering a new election were written by Henderson.
The Employer engaged in objectionable conduct by causing the Postal Service to install a cluster mailbox unit, by communicating and encouraging employees to cast their ballots using the mailbox, and by placing the mailbox at a location where employees could reasonably believe they were being surveilled.
The Board's authority was compromised by the Employer's disregard for the Board's typical mail-ballot procedure.
Amazon criticized the decision. In a statement sent to The Washington Post, Kelly Nantel said:
Our employees have always had the option of joining a union or not, and they overwhelmingly chose not to join the RWDSU earlier this year. It's disappointing that the votes shouldn't count.
