By a 2 to 1 margin, Alabama employees of Seattle-based Amazon have voted to reject a proposal to be represented by a labor union. Results were announced last week.
The organizing effort by the Retail Warehouse and Department Store Union drew national attention to Amazon, which operates as a non-union company.
The National Retail Federation issued a statement after the election results were announced. It read, in part: “Union representation is a choice for workers, but many clearly prefer opportunities in a competitive marketplace that provides strong wages and benefits over the anonymity of a collective bargaining agreement.”
A union victory could have encouraged other organizing drives throughout Amazon facilities. The outcome means that Amazon remains free to add or reduce payrolls at its warehouses as it wants, not according to union procedures.
