Dozens Rally To Support Amazon Union in Bessemer
Dozens of union supporters rallied in the cold rain near the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer Saturday.
Starting Monday, some 5,800 Amazon employees will vote by mail on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Voting will run through March 29.
Amazon has consistently fought efforts to unionize. Just Friday, the National Labor Relations Board denied Amazon’s request to postpone the election and consider in-person voting instead. It’s a high-stakes labor battle for Amazon. If workers vote yes, the Bessemer warehouse would be the first Amazon facility in the U.S. to unionize.
Jennifer Bates works at the Bessemer fulfillment center and spoke at Saturday’s rally in support of the union.
“It’s our time, not just here in Alabama, in the city of Bessemer, in all of the United States,” Bates said. “It’s time for us to take a stand and it’s time for us to speak out for unfair wages, unfair dignity.
At Saturday’s Bessemer rally, there was a strong showing from other labor unions, including the Communications Workers of America. Monday kicks off the first Amazon warehouse union vote since 2014, when a group of technicians in Delaware voted against unionization.
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum told NPR the Bessemer employees reached out to the retail union during the summer. They want more say in how they work, get disciplined, or get fired. They also complained of grueling productivity requirements.
Union workers around the region, including from poultry plants, have rallied in support of the Amazon unionization efforts. According to the union, more than half of Amazon staff at the Bessemer warehouse signed cards indicating they want a union shop.
“The thing that is most important for them is to be treated with respect,” Appelbaum told NPR. “I also think that the facility was new and I think people had expectations when they came in that were not being realized.”
Amazon officials say the union push doesn’t represent most employees. “Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire,” a representative told NPR.
Trump administration launches trial program to fast-track electric air taxis
The FAA is seeking proposals for projects that will include piloted and unmanned operations with a focus on electric air taxis, also called an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
Earl Richardson, an educator ‘armed with history’ and who changed HBCUs, dies
Richardson, a former president at Baltimore's Morgan State University, led a lawsuit that ended in a historic settlement for four historically Black colleges and universities in Maryland. He was 81.
Israel ramps up strikes on Gaza City and hospital says at least 32 are dead
The dead included 12 children, according to Shifa Hospital. Israel in recent days has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings and accused Hamas of putting surveillance equipment in them.
FAA seeks to fine Boeing $3.1 million for safety violations, door plug blowout
The FAA said it identified hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Wash., and Boeing subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems' 737 factory in Wichita, Kan.
Utah residents are reeling, knowing the Charlie Kirk suspect is one of their own
"This is everywhere. Every community, every town, every state," one of the suspect's neighbors said. "It's going to be everybody's neighbor, everybody's classmate. It's not at all unusual anymore."
Fed’s Cook claimed second residence as ‘vacation home,’ undercutting Trump fraud claims
Fed Gov. Lisa Cook referred to a condo she bought in 2021 as a "vacation home" in a loan estimate, which could undermine claims by the Trump administration that she committed mortgage fraud.
