Latest news with #CarolinaAmazoniansUnitedforSolidarityandEmpowerment
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon workers in North Carolina vote against joining union
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina rejected a proposal to unionize, becoming the latest group of the company's employees to side against union representation. About three-quarters of employees at an Amazon fulfillment center in Garner, a town located near Raleigh, voted against joining a grassroots labor organization called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, the National Labor Relations Board announced Saturday. The federal labor agency said 2,447 workers cast ballots against union representation while 829 voted in favor of joining the independent union, which is made up of former and current Amazon workers. The NLRB had said 4,300 Amazon workers were eligible to cast ballots in the election, which took place Monday through Saturday. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Rev. Ryan Brown, a former Amazon worker who co-founded the group, said Saturday, 'We had already braced ourselves for a loss.' 'We knew that historically the tide was against us to have a win for several reasons,' Brown said. 'One, we're in the South. Two, the average worker that's in North Carolina knows nothing about a union and the benefits of a union and what a union could do for them.' The outcome came just weeks after workers at a Whole Foods Market store in Pennsylvania voted to unionize, leading to the first successful entry of organized labor into the grocery chain, which Amazon owns. Following the union win, Whole Foods asked the NLRB to toss out the election results, arguing the voting process was tainted. In 2022, workers at an Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island unionized with Amazon Labor Union, which joined forces with the Teamsters last year. However, Amazon has objected to the election result and refused to negotiate over a contract. At the same time, the company has also been able to successfully fend off union victories at a second warehouse on Staten Island, as well as at facilities near Albany, New York, and in Bessemer, Alabama. In November, an NLRB administrative law judge ordered a third union election for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer after determining that the company committed six violations leading up to a rerun election in March 2022. That rerun was held after the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is seeking to represent Amazon workers in Bessemer, filed objections to the first election, which results in a union loss. Workers affiliated with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE, have been organizing at the North Carolina warehouse since January 2022. Co-founder Brown said in an interview last month he started organizing because he felt like Amazon was not providing workers adequate protections against COVID-19. The company said Saturday that Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting, such as safe and inclusive workplaces and competitive pay. 'We're glad that our team in Garner was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon," Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said in a written statement.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon workers in North Carolina vote against joining union
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina rejected a proposal to unionize, becoming the latest group of the company's employees to side against union representation. About three-quarters of employees at an Amazon fulfillment center in Garner, a town located near Raleigh, voted against joining a grassroots labor organization called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, the National Labor Relations Board announced Saturday. The federal labor agency said 2,447 workers cast ballots against union representation while 829 voted in favor of joining the independent union, which is made up of former and current Amazon workers. The NLRB had said 4,300 Amazon workers were eligible to cast ballots in the election, which took place Monday through Saturday. The outcome came just weeks after workers at a Whole Foods Market store in Pennsylvania voted to unionize, leading to the first successful entry of organized labor into the grocery chain, which Amazon owns. Following the union win, Whole Foods asked the NLRB to toss out the election results, arguing the voting process was tainted. In 2022, workers at an Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island unionized with Amazon Labor Union, which joined forces with the Teamsters last year. However, Amazon has objected to the election result and refused to negotiate over a contract. At the same time, the company has also been able to successfully fend off union victories at a second warehouse on Staten Island, as well as a facility near Albany, New York, and in Bessemer, Alabama. In November, an NLRB administrative law judge ordered a third union election for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer after determining that the company committed six violations leading up to a rerun election in March 2022. That rerun was held after the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is seeking to represent Amazon workers in Bessemer, filed objections to the first election, which results in a union loss. Workers affiliated with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE, have been organizing at the North Carolina warehouse since January 2022. Rev. Ryan Brown, a former Amazon worker who co-founded the group, said in an interview last month he started organizing because he felt like Amazon was not providing workers adequate protections against COVID-19. The company said Saturday that Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting, such as safe and inclusive workplaces and competitive pay. 'We're glad that our team in Garner was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon," said Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards in a written statement.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Carolina Amazon Workers Vote on Fate of Unionization
For organizers at an Amazon warehouse in Garner, N.C., it's vote-garnering time. Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE) is currently holding a vote to unionize; the election, which began on Monday, will conclude Saturday. More from Sourcing Journal Exclusive: Here's How Amazon Haul Stacks Up Against Temu, Shein With Consumers Amazon Silent on Tariffs, Sets Aside $100B for AI Spending Spree Canadian Union to Take Legal Action Against Amazon for 'Blatant Union-Busting Motives' Last month, the group received authorization from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to proceed with the election after proving it had enough union cards to do so. Organizers hope to garner pro-union votes from just over half of the employees in Amazon's RDU1 warehouse, which is located outside of Raleigh, N.C. The union seeks increased wages, 180 hours of paid time off, paid sick leaves, one-hour paid lunch breaks and holiday bonuses. On the wage front, organizers have demanded a minimum wage of $30 an hour for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 associates, which are, by and large, lower-level jobs inside of the organization. According to Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards, employees in the RDU1 warehouse see a pay range between $18.50 and $23.80, but noted that the warehouse does not have a pay cap and that Amazon continues to increase its hourly wages annually. Hards said the company wants workers to interact with upper management rather than unionizing. 'We've always said that we want our employees to have their voices heard, and we hope and expect this process allows for that. We believe our employees favor opportunities to have their unique voice heard by working directly with our team,' Hards said in an emailed statement, noting that the company 'already offers what many unions are requesting.' She went on to say that part of Amazon's specific hesitation over unionization at this site is that 'CAUSE has never negotiated a union contract anywhere and has no experience representing workers or their interests.' To that, CAUSE organizers said, 'Duh! We're an independent, associate-led body that started right here at RDU1. CAUSE is all of us, negotiating together. We have experienced labor leaders behind us.' Organizers like Reverend Ryan Brown have alleged that Amazon has filled the RDU1 warehouse with 'anti-union propaganda' and has attempted to turn workers against one another in an effort to stymie unionization. 'Amazon is taking advantage of the lack of oversight. They're installing new TVs all over the warehouse, which play anti-union propaganda on a loop. They're blacking out the windows so that workers can't look at anything else on your breaks,' he wrote in an opinion piece for 'And they've installed metal detectors in new, odd, places. It's downright Orwellian. We can't do our jobs to get people their packages without being distracted by a barrage of propaganda.' Hards did not deny that Amazon has presented employees with the option to join meetings that share information that may dissuade them from voting in favor of a union, but insisted that such meetings are not compulsory. 'Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. We believe that both decisions should be equally protected which is why we talk openly, candidly and respectfully about these topics, actively sharing facts with employees so they can use that information to make an informed decision. These meetings are voluntary and that's what we communicate to employees,' she said. Hards did not address whether Amazon plays anti-union videos or blacks out warehouse windows, as alleged in Brown's op-ed. But Brown said, despite Amazon's apparent distaste for unionization in the South, CAUSE won't quit. 'Amazon knows that if we can win a union in North Carolina, we can win anywhere. That's why they're going overboard to try to stop us,' he wrote. Brown is far from the first to accuse Amazon of union busting. After the company made the decision to close a group of facilities in the Québec, Canada, area, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), organizers who led a successful vote to unionize in one of those facilities made it clear that the union would pursue legal action against the e-commerce behemoth. And Amazon has a history of fighting union activity, even without the unrest whipping through federal agencies. It has engaged in an arduous battle against workers who unionized a Staten Island, N.Y., warehouse. Last year, that union, known as the Amazon Labor Union, became affiliated with the Teamsters in an effort to force Amazon to the table to negotiate. To date, the parties have not arrived at an agreement. Brown said organizers know that Trump's recent move to remove a member from the NLRB—so that the board is legally unable to issue decisions or enforce existing ones, given that it no longer has a quorum—could be a drawback for CAUSE. If the union garners the votes, the NLRB still has to certify the union as the employees' representative for collective bargaining with Amazon. But Brown and his fellow organizers are just trying to hop the next hurdle first: winning this week's election. '[We saw] record-breaking attendance at our membership meetings in the run up to this election. Everything I'm seeing shows that Amazon's union-busting is backfiring, and driving people to vote yes,' he wrote. 'We'll find out after the voting. Until then, I'll keep organizing.'
Bloomberg
11-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Amazon Workers Seek $30 an Hour in Union-Hostile North Carolina
When Inc. opened a warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, almost five years ago, Mary Hill was excited to snag a full-time job helping her neighbors get essentials during the Covid 19 lockdowns. Now, the 69-year-old hopes to organize her 4,700 co-workers into a union so they can bargain for $30 an hour and longer breaks. Hill and other organizers won the right to hold a union election this week to determine whether workers at the facility will be represented by the upstart Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment. The group came together during the pandemic, when Hill and many of her colleagues felt Amazon prioritized shipping products over keeping workers safe.
