Alabama Is Sorry, Stupid, And Lazy

News reports this morning are stating that in the matter of the unionization vote at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, AL slightly over half of all ballots sent out were returned.

Of the nearly 5800 ballots mailed out to Amazon employees at their Bessemer, Alabama facility, only about 55% were returned.

Only 3,215 ballots were received by the National Labor Relations Board in the election.

There were 5,867 ballots were sent out to Amazon workers in early February – that’s a 54.798% return rate.

At 1025 CST today, unofficial results were that the “NO” votes on the question of unionization were 1,798, while the “YES” votes were 738.

Amazon challenged 505 challenged ballots, and there were 76 voided ballots.

At the conclusion of the tally, an official from the National Labor Relations Board – a Federal governmental entity – said that “Challenges are not sufficient in number to affect the results of this election.”

In January, the NLRB set February 8 as the date ballots would go out, and set March 29 as the deadline date by whcih they must be returned. That same month, Amazon unsuccessfully tried to pause the vote, claiming “serious and systemic flaws” with the board process for conducting the vote amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

How sorry-assed and lazy does one have to be to fail to make a few marks on a piece of paper with a supplied pencil/pen, and then, return the damn thing in the supplied, postage-paid envelope?

Seriously – how sorry-assed and lazy is that?

That’s Alabama.

Sorry-assed, stupid, and lazy.

The Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union is now calling for an investigation into Amazon’s conduct during the union drive, and accusing Amazon of unlawfully interfering with the right of employees to engage in union activity.

Stuart Appelbaum, President of the RWDSU union said, “Amazon’s behavior during the election cannot be ignored and our union will seek remedy to each and every improper action Amazon took. We won’t let Amazon’s lies, deception and illegal activities go unchallenged, which is why we are formally filing charges against all of the egregious and blatantly illegal actions taken by Amazon during the union vote. Amazon knew full well that unless they did everything they possibly could, even illegal activity, their workers would have continued supporting the union.”

Even if there is a clear winner in this matter, the battle may be far from over, because even if Amazon’s Bessemer workers vote against forming a union, the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union could file objections accusing Amazon of tainting the election in some way, which in turn could lead to to a “do-over” of the election if the National Labor Relations Board agrees.

And yet, Amazon could file their own objections if the workers vote to form a union.

Stay tuned.