Nearly 6,000 warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama are currently voting on whether to become the first Amazon employees to form a union. UNISON East Midlands stands with those workers and sends solidarity in their plight to achieve better terms & conditions while working for the online retail giant.
MICHAEL WADE/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA AP IMAGES
The postal vote opened this week and workers have until end of March to cast their vote to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
Rachel Hodson regional manager said; “UNISON East Midlands sends solidarity to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and its members in the historic vote to unionise at Amazon’s site in Bessemer, Alabama.”
She noted that it was a matter of fairness; “Like many of our members, they too have worked throughout the Covid-19 pandemic – putting themselves and their families at risk. This is a prime example of the need for a strong collective voice. Unionised workplaces are safer workplaces, and unionised workers have better pay and terms and conditions. We congratulate the RWDSU who have campaigned hard in the face of underhanded tactics from the employer.”
Like the Amazon workers, UNISON members across the region have continued to work throughout the pandemic. It is the employees’ hard work that has seen Amazon’s profits grow to more than $100 billion in the last three of months of 2020, while reports continue that warehouse workers face making decisions about whether to put their health & safety above being able to pay the bills.
To the Amazon workers Rachel Hodson had this to say; “The world is watching and we hope to celebrate your success with you.”