He claims that the agency used an “artificially reduced number” of employees in the voting unit to calculate whether the ALU had garnered enough support to even hold an election. He also claims the agency delayed investigating what he calls “frivolous” unfair labor practice charges that he says were “exploited” by the union. And it alleges that the agency failed to adequately staff the polls during the election, ultimately “producing chaos and hours-long lines to vote on the first day of voting, which discouraged other employees from voting.”
Amazon also outlines alleged misconduct by ALU, the grassroots labor organization started by current and former employees of the facility. Among his claims about ALU, he says the union illegally intimidated employees and “threatened violence against its critics.”
Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement Friday: “Based on the evidence we have seen thus far, as set forth in our objections, we believe the actions of the NLRB and ALU improperly suppressed and influenced the vote, And we believe the election should be held again so that a fair and broadly representative vote can be had.”
The Staten Island election marked the first time a group of American workers had successfully voted to form a union in the company’s 27-year history. On Thursday, Amazon was granted a two-week extension to submit evidence to support its objections.
In its filing requesting the extension of the NLRB’s regional director, Amazon noted that the election at the facility “was one of the largest in the Board’s recent history” and said that “its objections are expected to be substantial, both in the number… .and extent of the conduct.”
Of approximately 8,325 eligible voters, 4,785 votes were counted. There were 2,654 votes in favor of unionization and 2,131 votes against. Another 67 ballots were challenged and 17 were annulled.
The ALU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last Thursday, the same day public vote counting began for the Staten Island election, ballots for a union election were also counted at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, but the result remains too close to announce. There are 416 contested ballots, which is enough to influence the result. The NLRB is expected to hold a hearing to review the contested ballots in the coming weeks.
This week, the RWDSU filed objections to the rerun election, arguing that Amazon again interfered with its employees’ right to vote freely in a fair election and asked that the NLRB’s regional director hold a hearing to determine whether the results should be overturned. . one more time. The RWSDU alleged that there were cases of dismissal and retaliation from union supporters, intimidation and surveillance of employees involved in organizing activities, and discrepancies with the list of eligible voters provided to the union. The RWSDU also alleged that Amazon applied new rules to ban the organization, removed pro-union literature, and threatened to close the facility if the union was successful.
“We’ve said from the beginning that we want our employees’ voices to be heard, and we expect the NLRB to count every valid vote,” Amazon’s Nantel said in a statement about the Bessemer vote.
The RWDSU previously filed several unfair labor practice complaints about Amazon’s conduct at the facility. One complaint objected to required group meetings where Amazon representatives conveyed their anti-union stance to workers, which the union said violated workers’ right to refrain from organizing related activities.
Amazon, which previously told CNN Business that RWDSU’s complaint is without merit, declined to comment on the Abruzzo memo.