"Illegal practices"

Amazon: Judge orders third union election

In the battle to establish a union at Amazon, the online giant has suffered a setback in the USA. On Wednesday, an administrative judge of the US labor authority NLRB ordered a third ballot on union representation for employees at the logistics center in Bessemer, Alabama.

The judge based his decision on the fact that Amazon had used illegal practices to prevent the formation of a union in the run-up to the vote in 2022. These included removing union materials from break rooms and restrooms and unjustifiably accusing pro-union employees of harassing colleagues.

Amazon intends to appeal against the ruling
Amazon announced that it would appeal against the ruling. The workforce had already made its decision against a trade union clear twice. The RWDSU union welcomed the new elections that were ordered, but criticized the fact that the judge had rejected the union's more far-reaching demands. RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said that without additional measures, no different result could be expected in a third election.

Second election result never published
Amazon has been under pressure for years to allow unions in its warehouses. There have already been two votes on union representation at the warehouse in Bessemer, the first of which was clearly against a union and the result of the second was never published due to legal objections from both sides.