Labor Relations

Amazon’s Labor Relations:

• According to the class textbook, Amazon is the second-largest U.S. private sector employer. Amazon wishes to keep its 800 U.S. facilities nonunion, but many of its employees want to be unionized.

• In 2020, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote on whether or not Amazon employees should be represented by the Resale, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). 

• Amazon workers feel as though their hourly pay is not a correct representation of how long their shifts are and how much work they are doing. An Amazon worker mentions in the textbook that if she takes too long getting water or using the bathroom, she could face a pay cut or might even be fired. Joining the union would give these employees more of a say in the pace of their work and the conditions.

• After court cases and voting, Amazon ultimately won to keep the company from joining a union. This is because Amazon fears that in joining a union it would “Its control over the workplace and over its costs could be compromised”. This could overall affect how Amazon competes for its customers, they say.