As workers mail in ballots for a second union vote in Bessemer, Amazon has convinced some that collective bargaining could worsen their circumstances.
When Kylee Rancour relocated from Massachusetts to Bessemer, Alabama, and took a job at Amazon, she was shocked to learn that her hourly wage would increase, even though Alabama’s minimum wage is only $7.25 compared to Massachusetts’s $14.25. Her health insurance package also offered more coverage.
“I still make $3 more an hour than I did before," she told BuzzFeed News. "If it weren't for Amazon's pay and benefits, we would be struggling to afford a place to live.”
The pay and benefits are the reason Rancour said she voted against unionizing in the ongoing election at the warehouse where she works. She and other workers have been mailing in their ballots since February as the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union tries again to win a union following its initial loss in 2021.
The results of that election were thrown out after the National Labor Relations Board determined that Amazon had illegally interfered with the process. Now, the union is alleging more of the same. Earlier this month, workers filed a charge with the NLRB accusing Amazon of, among other things, requiring workers to attend meetings “where employees were told to specifically vote ‘no’ for the union, and threatened that if a union got them higher wages, it would take away from their benefits.” Amazon said it has “fully complied with the law,” under...
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