Latest news with #Hards
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Carolina Amazon Employees Vote Against Unionizing
North Carolinian Amazon workers voted 'no' on unionization. Last week, employees at an Amazon warehouse in Garner, N.C., faced a vote on whether to unionize. Ultimately, the vote failed; the warehouse employs about 4,300 people, and just 829 of those employees voted in favor of the union. Meanwhile, 2,447 voted against it, and 77 ballots were cast aside because they had been challenged by Amazon or by the union. More from Sourcing Journal North Carolina Amazon Workers Vote on Fate of Unionization Exclusive: Here's How Amazon Haul Stacks Up Against Temu, Shein With Consumers Amazon Silent on Tariffs, Sets Aside $100B for AI Spending Spree That means the union, Carolina Amazonians United for Empowerment and Solidarity (CAUSE), received about 20 percent of the votes from employees; in order to unionize, more than half of workers would have needed to vote in favor. CAUSE, an independent union formed in 2022, has been fighting for more paid time off, longer lunch breaks and higher base pay for employees at the Garner warehouse, nicknamed RDU1. Specifically, they demanded a base wage of $30 an hour for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 associates. Today, employees receive wages that fall between $18.50 and $23.50, according to Amazon. Eileen Hards, a spokesperson for Amazon, previously told Sourcing Journal the company had hoped its employees would vote against unionizing because 'Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting' and because 'CAUSE has never negotiated a union contract anywhere and has no experience representing workers or their interests.' After the election, it became clear the e-commerce behemoth had gotten its wish. '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,' Hards said in an emailed statement. 'We look forward to continuing to make this a great place to work together, and to supporting our teammates as they build their futures with us.' In 2024, North Carolina had the lowest union membership rate in the country, coming in at 2.4 percent of workers, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, union membership stood at about 6 percent in private companies last year. CAUSE said it would continue organizing but that it would need to 'regroup and strategize beyond the legal structures that were never made to work for us,' according to NPR. CNBC reported that union organizers called the results a testament to Amazon's 'willingness to break the law.' Throughout the fight to organize, CAUSE accused Amazon of illegally interfering and forcing employees to attend anti-union meetings. Hards previously told Sourcing Journal such meetings were voluntary and said the company makes an effort to 'talk openly, candidly and respectfully' to help its employees 'make an informed decision' about unions. 'Amazon's relentless and illegal efforts to intimidate us prove that this company is afraid of workers coming together to claim our power,' the group reportedly said in a statement to CNBC. 'Amazon may think it is above the law, but we will not accept a system that allows billionaires and corporations to play by a different set of rules.' Amazon has historically been against unions in its facilities. In Alabama, officials found the company illegally impacted the results of a failed 2021 union election. The second election at the warehouse was a close race, compounded by accusations from each party that the other had broken applicable laws. Last year, a judge ruled that the union could run a third election—effectively to re-run the second election—in Alabama, and Amazon is currently appealing that decision. In Staten Island, N.Y., organizers who successfully convinced enough employees to vote in favor of unionization have faced an uphill battle in getting the company to come to the table to form a bargaining agreement. Amazon also owns Whole Foods; in January, a Philadelphia-based store voted to unionize. Whole Foods has since requested that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) disallow that union's results, since, at the moment, the agency lacks a quorum to certify such a win. That's due to the fact that President Donald Trump parted ways with one member of the NLRB after taking office, leaving just two members. CAUSE organizers indicated some worry over a similar issue, had they been able to persuade a majority of Garner workers to unionize. In Canada, Amazon is being accused of union-busting after shutting down a group of warehouses in Quebec. One of those warehouses had voted to unionize and was working on a collective bargaining agreement. That union, Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), has committed to pursuing legal action against the company.
NBC News
16-02-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Amazon workers reject union in vote at North Carolina warehouse
Amazon workers at a facility near Raleigh, North Carolina, overwhelmingly voted against unionizing on Saturday. Of the 3,276 ballots cast, there were 2,447 votes opposing the union and 829 in favor, according to the National Labor Relations Board. There were 77 challenged ballots, a gap that's too narrow to change the outcome of the election. The results still need to be certified by the NLRB. The election at the facility, named RDU1 and located in the suburb of Garner, came after organizers with the upstart Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE) campaigned at the warehouse for the past three years. The facility employs roughly 4,700 workers. CAUSE said in a statement that the election results were a 'result of Amazon's willingness to break the law.' 'Amazon's relentless and illegal efforts to intimidate us prove that this company is afraid of workers coming together to claim our power,' the group said. 'Amazon may think it is above the law, but we will not accept a system that allows billionaires and corporations to play by a different set of rules.' Amazon spokeswoman Eileen Hards denied that the company broke the law or interfered with the election. '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,' Hards said in a statement. 'We look forward to continuing to make this a great place to work together, and to supporting our teammates as they build their futures with us.' Amazon, the nation's second-largest private employer, has long sought to keep unions out of its ranks. The strategy succeeded in the U.S. until 2022, when workers at a Staten Island warehouse voted to join the Amazon Labor Union. Last month, workers at a Whole Foods store in Philadelphia voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union. Amazon responded to the Garner union drive with a barrage of anti-union messages in the warehouse, on a website, and sent through its AtoZ app to employees. A leader of the warehouse urged employees to 'vote no,' saying a union 'can get in the way of how we work together.' The company described CAUSE as an 'outside party' that's 'claiming to be a union.' Amazon has previously said its employees can choose whether or not to join a union, and that it speaks 'openly, candidly and respectfully about these topics' so that they can 'make an informed decision.' CAUSE was founded in 2022 by RDU1 employees Mary Hill and Rev. Ryan Brown to voice concerns about the company's response to the Covid pandemic, which they viewed as inadequate. The group sought to organize RDU1 to boost wages and secure longer breaks. Starting pay at RDU1 is $18.50 an hour. CAUSE has pushed to negotiate for wages of $30 an hour. In its statement on Saturday, CAUSE said it intended to continue organizing at RDU1 'because over half of Amazon employees are still struggling with food and housing insecurity.' Labor groups have looked beyond NLRB elections in an attempt to gain a union foothold at Amazon. They've assisted employees with filing unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against Amazon, accusing the company of violating labor laws. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters helped coordinate a picket effort at nine Amazon facilities in December. Amazon said the walkout had no impact on its operations. The Teamsters union has said it represents 9,000 Amazon workers around the country, although the company has refused to recognize the union and bargain with leadership. Unions have enjoyed increasing support across the country, with 67% of Americans saying they approve of labor unions, according to Gallup. But that hasn't translated into higher membership rates. Union membership in the private sector declined slightly to 5.9% in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. North Carolina had the lowest union membership rate in the country last year, with only 2.4% of workers in the state represented, according to the BLS.
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.'
