Amazon must face third union election at Alabama warehouse, NLRB judge rules
Adds RWDSU statement in paragraphs 10-11
By Daniel Wiessner
Nov 6 (Reuters) -A National Labor Relations Board administrative judge has ordered a third union election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, ruling that the company had again engaged in a series of illegal practices to thwart unionizing.
Administrative Law Judge Michael Silverstein said on Tuesday that ahead of a 2022 election at the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, Amazon had removed union literature from breakrooms and bathrooms, falsely accused pro-union employees of harassing coworkers, and illegally threatened to shut down the facility if workers voted to unionize.
The results of the election at the warehouse known as BHM1 were never finalized and ballots were impounded after both sides filed legal challenges, so the outcome of the vote is not known.
The election was held after an NLRB official threw out the results of a 2021 election in which workers voted about 2-to-1 against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. That official found that Amazon violated federal labor law by encouraging workers to deposit ballots in a mailbox it had installed at the warehouse and surrounded with anti-union slogans.
"Amazon has prevented the holding of a fair election, and such conduct warrants setting aside the 2022 mail ballot election," Silverstein wrote on Tuesday.
The judge in a footnote also rejected without explanation Amazon's claims that the NLRB's structure is unconstitutional, while noting "that a federal court will likely address these issues at some point in the future."
Amazon has also raised those claims in a lawsuit it filed against the NLRB involving a union election at a New York City warehouse, which so far is the company's only U.S. facility to unionize. About 20 other companies have also attacked the board's structure in pending cases.
Amazon spokeswoman Mary Kate Paradis in a statement said the decision was "wrong on the facts and the law" and the company plans to appeal to the board.
“Our team at BHM1 has already made their choice clear, twice, that they don’t want a Union. It’s disappointing that the NLRB and RWDSU keep trying to force a third vote instead of accepting the facts and the will of our team members," Paradis said.
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum criticized Silverstein's decision to deny the union's request for additional remedies, including an opportunity to hold 30-minute meetings at the warehouse ahead of the next election and a requirement that Amazon train managers and supervisors on workers' legal rights.
"There is no reason to expect a different result in a third election – unless there are additional remedies," Appelbaum said.
The NLRB in August upheld the results of a 2022 election at the New York warehouse, rejecting Amazon's claims that it was tainted by demonstrations held by workers and union organizers and that board officials who oversaw the voting were biased toward the union.
The board is now considering claims that Amazon has illegally refused to bargain with the union. The company's lawsuit seeks to block the NLRB from issuing a ruling in that case.
Along with losing the 2021 election in Alabama, unions have lost elections at a different New York City warehouse and an Amazon facility near Albany, New York.
The case is Amazon.com Services, National Labor Relations Board, No. 10-CA-290944.
For Amazon: Robert Dumbacher and C. Randolph Sullivan of Hunton Andrews Kurth
For the union: Susan Davis of Cohen Weiss & Simon; George Davies and Richard Rouco of Quinn Connor Weaver Davies & Rouco
For the NLRB General Counsel: Joseph Webb and Jaidrea Ford
Read more:
U.S. labor board official orders Amazon to redo union vote at Alabama warehouse
Amazon union backers see bright future for organizing despite tough odds
Union says Amazon continues to interfere with election at Alabama warehouse
Amazon challenges US labor board's structure in lawsuit over union election
Amazon wins temporary pause on NLRB case over NYC union election
Amazon faces second NLRB complaint over 'joint employment' of drivers
Amazon workers vote against unionizing second warehouse in setback for organized labor
Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York
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