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Unionization was one of our Top Trends for 2022, and as we have been reporting each week, across the work spectrum, it’s “on-trend.”
Last Friday, The National Labor Relations Board started to send ballots to about 6,100 Amazon employees at a warehouse in Alabama who voted last year against unionization—which was challenged after allegations that the Seattle-based company violated labor laws during the voting last year.
Kristina Bell, a worker at the Bessemer, Ala., facility, struck an optimistic tone about the new vote and told The Wall Street Journal that co-workers at the factory are a lot more informed about the benefits of unionization after the last vote.
The Journal reported that Amazon has denied violating the labor laws and said it listened to the workers there to ensure “great pay and benefits in a safe and inclusive workplace.”
TRENDPOST: The shortage of workers and the desire of employed workers to organize and go on strike share a common root cause: people are far less inclined to perform menial, unfulfilling jobs for meager pay. (See “STARBUCKS STORE TO UNIONIZE, A TOP TREND FOR 2022?” “ACTIVISION STUDIO GROUP WILL FORM A UNION, SOLIDIFYING TRENDS JOURNAL FORECAST,” “POLITICO JOURNALISTS FORM UNION. A TREND OF THE TIMES” and “REI: UNIONIZATION TREND EXPANDS AS FORECAST.”)
Perry Connelly, an Amazon employee, spoke to the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post and accused the company of taking advantage of a “captive community” where there are not many employment options.
“A lot of people, like me, thought Amazon was going to be a great place to work,” he said. “You know, you’re talking about working for a billionaire, a multi-billionaire. So you get in there, and it’s unorganized. Managers don’t always know what’s going on.”
Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, told the paper that the labor movement is obligated to take on the company due to its model of work “that is unacceptable, which relies on dehumanizing the workers. A spokeswoman from the company said 450 workers have been promoted there since the factory opened.”
The paper said Amazon “went all out” to get workers to oppose joining a union and was successful in getting 71 percent of the employees to vote in opposition. (A U.S. Postal Service mailbox was placed in front of the factory, and the union said the placement intimidated employees and gave them the false impression that these votes would somehow get back to Amazon.)
The paper interviewed employees who were opposed to unionizing and essentially asked what more the company could be doing. One employee said she has a brain tumor and her treatment is covered by company-provided health insurance and her medication—which would be about $3,000 a month, costs her $10.
The Journal pointed out that the workers who voted in opposition to unionization last time said they did not think a union would substantially improve their lives.
Steven Greenhouse, a journalist and author, wrote in The Guardian that the average Amazon warehouse worker leaves the job within just eight months, which is an “unmistakable sign that Amazon’s jobs are unpleasant, to put it kindly, and that many Amazon workers quickly realize they hate working there because of the stress, breakneck pace, constant monitoring and minimal rest breaks.”
TREND FORECAST: Unionization will continue to be a Top Trend; the more limited the supply of workers (made worse by “No Jab, No Job” mandates; (see “WANT TO KEEP YOUR JOB? GET THE JAB!” and “NO JAB, NO JOB. VACCINE MANDATES ‘WORKING’”), the more powerful the trend toward unionization will be.
And, as inflation continues to rise faster than wages, corporations that wish to incentivize their workforce to do and give the best they can, will raise the pay scale to levels higher than inflation rates. In doing so, they will create atmospheres of mutual appreciation.