US labor board to hold hearing on whether to redo Amazon union election based on evidence submitted by union
The National Labor Relations Board will hold a hearing on whether to redo the Amazon union vote in Bessemer, Alabama.
Amazon employees there voted against unionizing, but the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union challenged the results.
The NLRB said the union's evidence warranted a hearing to consider whether Amazon acted illegally and whether a new election should be held.
Amazon has denied any wrongdoing.
The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday said evidence submitted by the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union concerning Amazon's conduct during a union vote in Bessemer, Alabama, justified holding a hearing to review the evidence and determine whether to redo the election.
"The evidence submitted by the union in support of its objections could be grounds for overturning the election if introduced at a hearing," the NLRB said.
The NLRB's ruling clears the way for a hearing, which it plans to hold on May 7, where it will review the RWDSU's evidence. If the NLRB finds Amazon illegally interfered in the election, it can void the results and re-run the election.
Amazon has denied any wrongdoing.
The RWDSU, the union which Amazon's employees voted on whether to join, failed to secure enough votes from Amazon warehouse workers to form a union in a highly publicized election earlier this month.
When the NLRB publicly announced the vote count on April 9, the tally was 1,798 votes against unionizing and 738 votes for the union, with 505 ballots challenged and 76 ballots voided - 70.9% of valid votes counted were against the union.
But the RWDSU subsequently filed 23 objections against Amazon and how it acted during the contentious March election, claiming Amazon's conduct prevented employees from having a "free and uncoerced exercise of choice" on which way to vote. The RWDSU alleged Amazon's agents unlawfully threatened employees with closure of the warehouse if they joined the union and that the company emailed a warning it would lay off 75% of the proposed bargaining unit because of the union.
An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NLRB's statement.
At the May 7 hearing, the NLRB would have the option to overturn the election results if any evidence of illegal action is ruled credible.
(Reuters reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)
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