Business

Historic Amazon union drive set to conclude

March 30, 2021 9:57 am

Organisers from the RWDSU have been posted at the Bessemer plant for weeks. [Source: BBC]

Officials are set to reveal the outcome of a high-profile battle in Bessemer, Alabama that could establish the first unionised Amazon warehouse in the US.

Ballots will start being counted on Tuesday after more than a month of voting ends on Monday.

The fight is a key test for Amazon, which has faced criticism around the world over its working conditions during the pandemic.

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The e-commerce giant has fiercely opposed the effort.

If it loses, it would be forced to enter formal negotiations with representatives from the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) over a contract for nearly 6,000 staff at the warehouse, located just outside Birmingham, a city in the north-central region of Alabama.