As organizers prepare for a second unionization election at an Amazon.com Inc. AMZN 0.58% warehouse in Alabama, one of the most significant challenges they face is the possibility that many people employed at the facility now may not be there when the vote is held.
Amazon has recorded turnover above 100% across many of its facilities before and during the pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
During the first election in Bessemer, union officials estimated that at least 1,000 workers left around the time voting took place during two months concluding at the end of March. The facility had roughly 6,000 eligible voters at the time and about half voted. Several of the Bessemer workers the Journal contacted during the first vote no longer work there.
Amazon has said that many employees who leave come back to reapply. An Amazon spokeswoman said some employees “stay with us throughout the year and others choose to only work with us for a few months to make some extra income when they need it.”
While federal officials have yet to set a vote date, Amazon and union organizers have begun preparations for the second one, holding local meetings and negotiating over procedures for an election that is likely to be held in 2022 in Bessemer.
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