Labor board denies Amazon's request to delay Alabama unionizing vote

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied Amazon's motion to delay a union election at one of its Alabama warehouses slated for Monday.

Last month, the e-commerce giant had filed a motion with the U.S. labor board to delay the vote and give the board more time to reconsider its earlier decision to hold the election by mail during a nearly two-month time span to have a "fair" election, despite the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.

AMAZON PUSHES FOR IN-PERSON UNIONIZING VOTE FOR 'VALID, FAIR AND SUCCESSFUL ELECTION'

Starting Monday, employees at the Bessemer facility will have until March 29 to mail in their ballots.

In November, employees at the Bessemer facility filed a petition with the NLRB saying they wanted to hold an election on forming a union to represent the 1,500 full- and part-time workers at the fulfillment center. The plan does not include drivers, seasonal employees, professional employees and others.

The employees are seeking to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

"The purpose of us coming together with our co-workers to form a union is to have better working conditions, better pay, and to be treated with respect and dignity on the job," read a website created in support of forming a union at the Alabama facility.

Their push for forming a union received support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who said their efforts would mark a turning point for "every worker in America."

However, Amazon previously argued that in-person voting is the best way to "approach to a valid, fair and successful election." The company also said it would make "it easy for associates to verify and cast their vote."

Amazon spokesperson Owen Torres told FOX Business that the company's objective was to get as many employees as possible to vote and "we’re disappointed by the decision by the NLRB not to provide the most fair and effective format to achieve maximum employee participation."

Torres argued that the labor board "recognizes that the employee participation rate for its own elections conducted with mail ballots is 20-30% lower than the participation rate for in-person voting."

Torres also said that the company had "proposed a safe on-site election process validated by COVID-19 experts that would have empowered our associates to vote on their way to, during and from their already scheduled shifts."

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Still, the NLRB had deemed that mail-in ballots were the "safest and most appropriate method of conducting an election in view of the extraordinary circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic," officials wrote in a notice.

Although the company said it respects their decision, Amazon said the warehouse has created thousands of full-time jobs in Bessemer since opening in March. The average pay is $15.30 per hour, including full health care, vision and dental insurance.

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“We respect our employees’ right to join or not join a labor union but we don’t believe this group represents the majority of our employees’ views,” Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox said earlier this year.

The company will "continue to insist on measures for a fair election that allows for a majority of our employee voices to be heard," Torres said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.