- Amazon narrowly avoids union recognition
- GMB alleges Amazon engaged in union-busting
- Labour vows to ease union recognition
The GMB nearly lost its unprecedented battle for union registration at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry.
49.5% of the workers polled voted in favor, while 50.5% voted against. The union required a majority vote in favor.
If the GMB had won, Amazon would have recognized a union for the first time in the United Kingdom.
The online titan would have been forced to engage with employees over salary and working conditions.
In a statement, Amazon stated that it places “enormous value on engaging directly” with employees.
“We look forward to continuing on that path with our team in Coventry,” the company said.
The GMB stated that it is considering attempting again for recognition at the Coventry facility and that conversations are underway about its strategy.
The process would entail convincing the Central Arbitration Committee, which oversees applications for recognition, that the pool of workers entitled to vote has changed.
‘Union busting’
The GMB, which lost by 28 votes, claimed that their campaign for recognition fell “agonizingly short” and accused Amazon of “union-busting.”
It claimed that ” company b” uses anti-union messages, including multiple anti-union seminars,” were broa” cast at the facility.
It said that “the fire lit by workers in Coventry and across the UK is still burying” and that the union would “carry on the f”get” for low-wage workers.
union’son’s drive for recognition has been dubbed a David vs. Goliath battle, with workers facing tremendous opposition from the online giant.
It began with a ragtag display of defiance in the summer of 2022 after Amazon increased workers’ pay from 35p to 50p per hour.
Workers who had worked in warehouses during the COVID-19 pandemic claimed this felt insulting—in Coventry, a small group of disgruntled workers protested outside the fulfillment site.
The GMB then got involved, urging workers to form unions.
Coventry workers staged the UK’s first Amazon walkout in January 2023 despite having only 50 GMB members.
It went on to organize 37 more days of industrial action over the last year, and by recruiting on the picket line, it slowly increased its membership to more than 1,400 out of the center’s estimated 3,000+ workers.
In April, the union filed a lawsuit against Amazon, claiming it employed deceptive methods to persuade members to withdraw their union membership.
On Wednesday, it announced that the legal challenge would proceed.
According to the GMB, as part of the challenge, Amazon posted posters in fulfillment centers with QR codes, prompting an email to the union’s membership department requesting their membership be canceled.
Amazon responded t”at “employees were telling us they wanted to cancel their membership couldn’tdn’t find a way to do so, so we provided information to ass”st.
We have always clarified that union membership is voluntary for each employee.
Amazon, one of the UK’s largest private sector employers with 75,000 employees, has always stated that it does not wish to recognize a union and prefers to maintain a direct connection with its workforce.
Following the vote on Wednesday, it emphasized t”at “having daily conversations” with employees “as “an essential part of our work culture.
“We value the direct interaction, as do our staff. The company said we’ve worked hard to listen to them, act on their input, and invest extensively in competitive pay, benefits, and skill development.
The GMB is shocked by the boldness of a predominantly immigrant staff, many of whom have recently moved from South Asia.
Union organizers claim that as little as 5% of Coventry staff are British-born, and their campaign pamphlets have been translated into 12 languages.
They believe that many individuals were initially afraid to participate. Still, their confidence grew as the strikes progressed, and workers who joined picket lines were not subjected to disciplinary action.
The union hopes that the government will improve their ability to organize.
Labor promised legislation today, such as King’s son’s speech, to simplify the process of winning recognition elections by lowering the required victory threshold and making it easier for union leaders to recruit in the workplace.
‘Wrong Side of History’
Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, stated that despite taking on one of “world’s largest corporate gia” ts,” Coventry union members members “only narrowly missed”out” on gaining recognition.
With Labour poised to usher in a new age of more substantial worker rights, he warned that firms like Amazon are on the wrong side of history.
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Gregor Gall, a professor of industrial relations at Glasgow University, questions GMB’s and MB’s ability to take the struggle to other Amazon centers.
Organizing a union is quite costly. The GMB has officers working full-time on it. He explained that he won’t necessarily see organizing drives elsewhere.
Given that Gall ‘sas occurred in the United States, Professor Gall’s concern is understandable.
In 2022, Amazon employees at its Staten Island warehouse in New York were the first in the US to be granted union recognition. After two years, the firm has not talked with the union and is still fighting legal challenges to the vote.
