Despite COVID-19, Amazon requests in-person unionizing vote for ‘valid, fair and successful election’

Josh Rivera
 
| USA TODAY
Amazon offers to help roll out COVID-19 vaccinesAmazon has offered to help the Biden administration with the rollout of coronavirus vaccines. Biden wants 100M vaccinations within his first 100 days.unbranded – Lifestyle, unbranded – LifestyleAmazon is asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to direct warehouse workers to cast unionizing votes in-person, rather than by mail.The company filed a motion last Thursday to delay the union election at an Alabama facility.The union election was set to begin on Feb. 8 by mail. The motion by Amazon intends to have the NLRB reconsider its decision on the method of voting and instead go for a one-day in-person event.”We believe that the best approach to a valid, fair and successful election is one that is conducted manually, in-person, making it easy for associates to verify and cast their vote in close proximity to their workplace,” Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox said in a statement to USA TODAY.The NLRB had no comment on the matter.There were 100,641 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alabama last month, according to Johns Hopkins data. It also registered its record number of deaths at 1,981.Instacart: Company to eliminate nearly 2,000 positions, upsetting union officialsGoogle: Workers form new labor union, a tech industry rarity”Amazon provided the NLRB with a safe, confidential and convenient proposal for associates to vote onsite, which is in the best interest of all parties – associate convenience, vote fidelity, and timeliness of vote count. We will continue to insist on measures for a fair election, and we want everyone to vote, so our focus is ensuring that’s possible,” Knox said.Some Amazon workers in Europe are unionized and are moving to improve their working conditions. A union election was held in 2014 at a Delaware warehouse, but workers rejected the effort.


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