ALABAMA – As more than 5,000 Amazon workers in Alabama consider whether to unionize, they’re getting support in Grand Rapids from labor advocates.
A group representing several Grand Rapids area unions gathered Friday, Feb. 19 in Northwest Grand Rapids to rally for Amazon employees in Bessemer, AL.
Tom Burke, a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 26, said local union leaders want to “stand in solidarity” with union-minded Amazon workers.
“This is a battle of David versus Goliath and Goliath has almost $200 billion in his pocket,” Burke said, referring to the net worth of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. “It’s hard to say it’s democracy when you have a company and an individual who decides where warehouses are being built and where they’re not being built, where they can unionize and where they won’t unionize.
“We want to bring back the American dream and to do that we have to have unions,” he said.
In Bessemer, the Amazon workers are voting by mail through March 29 whether to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It has a membership of up to 18,000 members in Alabama.
The Bessemer workers organizing the union drive there say they want more company accountability on issues such as working conditions given COVID-19, overtime and benefits.
Burke said Friday’s rally included plans for a vehicle caravan going past the Amazon fulfillment center at 68th Street and Patterson Avenue SE. The facility opened in March 2020.
They planned to honk horns. Some of the vehicles had pro-union messages or signs on the windows.
A spokesperson for Amazon, Max Gleber, sent a statement to MLive regarding the company’s position on unions:
“The truth is that Amazon already offers what unions are requesting for employees: industry-leading pay, comprehensive benefits from the first day on the job, opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern, and inclusive work environment. At Amazon, these benefits and opportunities come with the job, as does the ability to communicate directly with the leadership of the company,” according to the statement.
“Direct dialogue is essential to our work environment in which we encourage associates to bring their comments, questions, and concerns directly to their management team with the goal of quickly improving the work environment and challenging leadership assumptions. We firmly believe this direct connection is the most effective way to understand and respond to the needs of our workforce.”
