NLRB preliminary finding revives labor organizing at Amazon
Associated PressNEW YORK — A recommendation to nullify the election results of an Amazon union vote in Bessemer, Alabama is breathing new life into the labor movement. The recommendation was issued Monday by a hearing officer for the National Labor Relations Board, who said that Amazon potentially interfered with the April election in which warehouse workers overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to unionize. Labor experts say that it’s rare for a hearing officer to call for a new election but in the case of Amazon, there’s a good chance it will happen since the NLRB regional director usually sticks with the hearing officer’s guidance. It’s the government, the impartial third party, that is in control of the process, not the employer.” In its filing with the NLRB in April, the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, which spearheaded the unionization campaign in Bessemer, said that Amazon threatened workers with layoffs and even closing the warehouse if they unionized. “It’s disappointing that the NLRB is considering to side with Big Labor by setting aside the will of American workers,” said Kristen Swearingen, chairman of the coalition in a statement.