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Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

wsj.com

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Re: Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

#11

Post by bena »

tyingq wrote: post #8
LatteLazy wrote: post #2

That's pretty overwhelming too, 71% No. It would be interesting to hear from them why. I think we all have opinions (I certainly do). But I've never worked at amazon so my opinion is low value...

My guess is the messaging about dues. Lots of people focused on the short term hit to their paychecks. Most of the stories reference $500/month. That does seem high. Data I can find for other unions shows somewhere between 1 to 4 percent of gross pay as typical for union dues. Assuming $15/hour, 4 percent of gross pay would be $144/month. But, if $500/month is accurate, it's 13.8% of gross pay for $15/hour workers, a…

That short term hit can have long term consequences.

If I'm scraping by already, I'm not looking forward to taking another hit to an already stretched paycheck.

Re: Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

#12

Post by nanna »

Waterluvian wrote: post #4
LatteLazy wrote: post #2

That's pretty overwhelming too, 71% No. It would be interesting to hear from them why. I think we all have opinions (I certainly do). But I've never worked at amazon so my opinion is low value...

I'm curious if it's the same reason I put up with !@#$ earlier in my career: I don't have the luxury of taking risks and I'm just really not interested in upsetting my employer. You tell me there's a better world on the other side of the hill, but I'm just trying to keep my children from starving this month. I can't even begin to think about the uncertainty and risk of trying to get there. Some commentary: I think th…

In other countries not hiring someone because of their union affiliation is flat out illegal. (Thanks to union and political struggles to protect collective bargaining as a right)

Re: Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

#15

Post by rshm »

LatteLazy wrote: post #2

That's pretty overwhelming too, 71% No. It would be interesting to hear from them why. I think we all have opinions (I certainly do). But I've never worked at amazon so my opinion is low value...

I would guess, fear of retribution from amazon. If the voting was nationwide it could have lowered the fear that amazon could treat one location better in things like expansion.

Re: Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

#16

Post by gruez »

Loughla wrote: post #9

I absolutely do not understand why you would vote against your own collective interest for a small amount of union dues. That is not snark, it's a real statement. I legitimately do not understand it. Can someone who works/worked one of these jobs please explain it to me? I am so confused by how lopsided this was.

From an earlier thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26749927

Re: Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

#17

Post by brighton36 »

Loughla wrote: post #9

I absolutely do not understand why you would vote against your own collective interest for a small amount of union dues. That is not snark, it's a real statement. I legitimately do not understand it. Can someone who works/worked one of these jobs please explain it to me? I am so confused by how lopsided this was.

I get the impression that most people download their opinions from whatever pa system is loudest and closest to them. Perhaps that explains this...

Re: Amazon workers vote against unionizing in Alabama

#19

Post by chrisseaton »

nanna wrote: post #7

I'm confused, why did they need a vote to start a union? Here in the UK pretty sure if a load of workers want to start a union, they can - irrespective of whether they're in the majority or not. Sounds to me like the circumscription of a need for a majority itself comes from anti-union legislation.

The vote was to unionise the workplace, not to form a union.

You can form a union whenever you want, like you can form any other group of people a club. You just can't unilaterally force an employer to deal with you.

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