U.S. Labor Secretary Weighs in on Amazon and the Union Controversy

In an interview with Yahoo! Finance, Marty Walsh, the Labor Secretary for the United States, has suggested that the results of Amazon’s union vote at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama are imminent.

“The Amazon situation — we’re going to see what the result of the vote is in the next few days,” Walsh said in the interview.

The National Labor Relations Board began vote tallying on Tuesday however there could be a protracted process.

The Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union (RWDSU) and Amazon might be able to exercise their right to challenge each of the thousands of votes based on eligibility or procedural concerns.

When voting counting is over, it could be months to go through challenges.

Almost 6,000 workers at an Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama were able to vote in the election. Mail-in voting began in early February and finished this week.

Walsh told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief, Andy Serwer, “There should be no intimidation when somebody wants to join union.”

“If the workers feel they want a union, they should have that opportunity to be able to vote and put a union in their workplace,” he said. “That’s how I feel.”

President Joe Biden had warned employers in a March video against intimidating workers to not organize a union.

The president’s reference to “workers in Alabama” was believed by many to be a jab at Amazon.

Amazon has aggressively opposed the union drive and even hired law firm Morgan Lewis to fight it. This was the same law firm that fought a union drive at a Delaware warehouse in 2014.

In a statement to Yahoo Finance earlier this year, Amazon defended its opposition to union organizing among employees in Alabama.

“The fact is that Amazon already offers what unions are requesting for employees: industry-leading pay, comprehensive benefits from the first day on the job, opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern work environment,” Amazon Spokesperson Maria Boschetti said.

“Workers might take the opportunity to vote for a union; some workers might take the opportunity not to vote for union,” Walsh says. “But I think that anti-union rhetoric really doesn’t help.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.