Amazon North Carolina Workers Reject Unionization

Amazon workers in North Carolina voted against joining a union, marking a significant victory for the retail giant, which has vigorously opposed organized labor at its facilities across the U.S., Greg Bensinger reported for Reuters.

Union organizers claimed the vote was the result of Amazon's "relentless and illegal effort to intimidate" workers. I Photo: WELBRO Building Corporation

About three-quarters of voters opposed unionization, dealing a setback to union officials who have long sought to organize Amazon due to its influence across industries such as warehousing, trucking, manufacturing, and data processing.

A simple majority of votes among the 4,300 workers at the warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, near Raleigh, was required to form the union.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released the results of this week's vote on Saturday: 2,447 workers voted against unionizing, while 829 voted in favor.

Amazon has argued that its workers are best served by maintaining a direct relationship with the company rather than through organized labor, while union officials have asserted that improving working conditions and wages is only possible through collective bargaining.

The company said in a statement that it was "glad" workers "chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon." Union organizers, however, claimed the vote was the result of Amazon's "relentless and illegal effort to intimidate" workers.