Unionization Efforts at Amazon Halted by High Employee Turnover and Company Resistance

When thousands of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, voted against unionizing last month, it was a major setback for the labor movement.

The vote was seen as a referendum on Amazon's treatment of its workers, who have long complained of grueling working conditions and low pay.

It was also a blow to the efforts of organized labor to gain a foothold in the e-commerce giant, which has been largely resistant to unionization.

After the Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in New York voted to unionize earlier this year, Nannette Plascencia thought her facility east of Los Angeles could be among those to vote next.

After spending months organizing with other employees and holding meetings, Ms. Plascencia and her supporters learned that they didn't have enough proof of support to file for a union election.

"It can be difficult to connect with all of our colleagues," Ms. Plascencia said, referring to the more than 2,000 employees who work at the warehouse. This is just one of several warehouses in the area.

Labor activists were filled with anticipation after Amazon employees in Staten Island, New York voted to unionize in April. This marked a victory for organizers at one of the country’s most powerful technology companies. The challenges faced by Ms. Plascencia haven’t been unique.

Thousands of workers at three other Amazon facilities have voted against unionization this year. In interviews, Amazon workers said that was largely because of high turnover and what some see as relatively good pay and benefits at the tech company’s warehouses compared with similar work.

As inflation began to accelerate this year, executives at Amazon and other workplaces moved to improve pay and benefits. In September, Amazon raised its average starting hourly pay by about $1 to more than $19, adding to other raises they have rolled out in recent years.

As we move into 2023, the economy remains uncertain, with a potential recession on the horizon. Despite this, the labor market remains tight, and workers are likely to continue to organize. However, unionization may proceed at a slower pace than in the past year, and labor confrontations are likely to take years to play out, according to economists and labor researchers.

Amazon has stated that it does not believe unions are the best option for its employees, as they can limit the company's ability to make positive changes for its workforce. Union membership in the private sector has been declining in recent years, reaching record lows.

As the labor market tightened and workers became more aware of the risks they were taking to produce and deliver food or other items during the Covid-19 pandemic, activism among hourly employees rose substantially. Dozens of Starbucks Corp. cafes unionized, and workers at companies from outdoor-equipment chain REI to Apple Inc. voted to do the same.

The momentum for unionization at Starbucks and other companies has slowed down in recent months as organizers struggle to gain traction and company executives raise wages and try to improve employee conditions. Some companies have taken steps to counter unionization, such as with mandatory meetings.

"Workers are encountering resistance from companies when they try to unionize," said Charlotte Garden, a labor lawyer and professor at the University of Minnesota. "The question is whether this will continue, or if something will change to make companies feel that unionization is the best option."

Andrew MacDonald, a lawyer at Fox Rothschild LLP who specializes in labor law, said that many businesses view unionization as interference in their workplace procedures, which they have invested heavily in. Many companies also believe that their policies improve working conditions for employees.

After two years of organizing, Amazon workers finally achieved a lone labor victory. Chris Smalls, a former Amazon employee at the Staten Island warehouse, began organizing employees soon after he was fired by the company in March 2020. He was protesting its initial worker-safety protocols in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon said it fired Mr. Smalls for violating its policies.

Mr. Smalls and other lead organizers campaigned nearly every day outside of the facility to raise awareness about the working conditions inside. The group hosted cookouts and blasted music from the rapper Drake to create a fun and festive atmosphere. They handed out marijuana to employees to help them relax and cope with the stress of their job. They posted trendy videos to TikTok to reach a wider audience. And they used their status as current and former Amazon employees to earn workers’ trust. Amazon appealed the Staten Island results and hasn’t yet negotiated a contract with workers.

Amazon's facility in Moreno Valley, Calif., named ONT8, is one of more than a dozen Amazon warehouses in an area often called the "Inland Empire" by local officials. The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California that is home to many warehouses and distribution centers. Amazon's ONT8 facility is one of the largest in the region.

The Inland Empire is a largely unknown area of California, but it is estimated to be home to around 500 major distribution facilities. The sound of 18-wheelers is often more common on its roads than that of cars.

Ms. Plascencia said that she has faced several obstacles in her efforts to organize co-workers at ONT8. One challenge is the layout of the facility. Many Amazon warehouses are enormous, and given that many employees work at isolated stations sorting or preparing packages, it can be difficult to talk to them about the benefits of unionization.

Ms. Plascencia said that some of the initial workers she talked to have left. She said that at other Amazon facilities, unions have estimated turnover of around 100%. Amazon says that many employees who leave come back and reapply.

Amazon has taken steps to prevent its employees from unionizing at ONT8 and other warehouses. The company has brought in consultants and held meetings inside the facility to discourage workers from supporting the union. Amazon has said it uses the meetings to inform employees about what a union could mean for their workplace.

When Ms. Plascencia and other activists filed for an election, they had to guess the total headcount of the facility. They later learned from Amazon that total staff was more than 2,600, about three times the size union organizers estimated. The group withdrew their election petition because an election typically can’t be granted until 30% of the facility’s workforce sign cards of interest.

People are scared to support unionization because they fear repercussions by Amazon, Ms. Plascencia said. The company has been accused of firing several activist employees who said their termination was caused by their organizing work, a claim that Amazon has denied. Recently, a federal judge ordered Amazon to "cease and desist" from retaliatory firings; several retaliation cases against it have been dismissed. The company says it doesn't retaliate against employees.

According to labor researchers, under current labor law, companies have advantages in unionization contests, including the ability to hold mandatory meetings and have more accurate information on their workers. Workers also must generally organize at one facility or store at a time.

According to David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, labor struggles can often take many years to resolve. For example, it took workers at the Smithfield Foods Inc. slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, N.C. – known as the world’s largest pork-processing plant – approximately 15 years to achieve unionization, finally achieving this goal in 2008. Prior to this, employees had voted against unionization in 1994 and 1997.

"It's a war of attrition," Mr. Autor said. Unions will gain ground, take some losses, and then try again.