{"id":17368,"date":"2023-06-02T16:27:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T20:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/amazon-fires-union-organizer-at-alabama-warehouse-union-says\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T16:28:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T20:28:00","slug":"amazon-fires-union-organizer-at-alabama-warehouse-union-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=17368","title":{"rendered":"Amazon fires union organizer at Alabama warehouse, union says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Amazon.com Inc. has fired a leader in the effort to unionize a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., the union representing the workers there said. <\/p>\n

The organizer, Jennifer Bates, was terminated amid a monthslong dispute over workers\u2019 compensation after suffering injuries while working at the warehouse, according to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has been helping the warehouse\u2019s workers in their unionization drive. <\/p>\n

\n

The union said Bates was being terminated over an \u201calleged paperwork issue\u201d and faulty AI, \u201cdue to a glitch in the company\u2019s own software.\u201d Amazon, in a statement, cited insufficient documentation to account for Bates\u2019 time away, and said she would be able to appeal the decision. <\/p>\n

The union asked the National Labor Relations Board to review Bates\u2019 case when it was filed. The union\u2019s announcement comes after Darryl Richardson, also a vocal advocate for unionizing at Bessemer, said he was fired in January. <\/p>\n

See also: <\/strong>\u2018Workers are not indentured servants,\u2019 Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says in dissent over union liability for strikes<\/p>\n

Efforts to unionize at the Alabama warehouse began in 2020. But since then, the vote on unionization has been tangled up in allegations that Amazon has acted unfairly to tilt the vote in its favor. The union has accused Amazon of violating the law in the first election, in 2021, and a rerun election held last year. The NLRB is reviewing the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve given my arms and shoulders to Amazon these past three years,\u201d Bates said in a statement released by the union on Friday. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve given every fiber of my soul into organizing Amazon these past three years. For them to treat me like this is unfathomable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unionization efforts by Amazon warehouse workers, who are seeking better pay and protections after dealing with a surge in demand through the pandemic, have been met with stiff opposition by the online retailer. Workers at one warehouse in Staten Island, known as JFK8, voted to unionize last year. But a vote to unionize at another warehouse in Staten Island was unsuccessful. <\/p>\n

The RWDSU said that Bates recently went on workers\u2019 compensation to recover from injuries suffered while working at the warehouse. When Amazon told her to return to work, it did not make adjustments to her schedule or the work she did, \u201cdespite repeated doctors\u2019 letters and review by Amazon\u2019s own \u2018Wellness Center,’\u201d the union alleged. <\/p>\n

Also read:<\/strong> Unions\u2019 push at Amazon, Apple and Starbucks could be \u2018most significant moment in the American labor movement\u2019 in decades<\/p>\n

Amazon, the union said, told her to go home and get a new doctor\u2019s review, and after she returned again, she was notified that her access to Amazon\u2019s AtoZ app \u2014 a workplace management tool \u2014 was disabled. An HR representative, the union said, attributed the app\u2019s disabling to \u201cher unpaid time off tally.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOnly after Bates tenacious inquiries, hours on the phone was Bates even informed she had potentially even been terminated,\u201d the union said. \u201cDespite numerous attempts to provide the necessary paperwork she has yet to hear from the company about her appeal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The New York Times in 2021 reported that Amazon\u2019s software had sometimes led to \u201cinadvertent firings and stalled benefits.\u201d Amazon, in that story, said that such incidents were rare. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur records indicate that Ms. Bates failed to show up to work for a period of time and didn\u2019t respond or provide documentation to excuse her absences,\u201d Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis said in a statement on Friday. \u201cWe work hard to accommodate our team\u2019s needs for personal leaves of absence, but like any employer, we ask our employees to meet certain minimum expectations for leave approval. Ms. Bates has the opportunity to appeal the decision.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU\u2019s president, said stronger labor laws were needed to shield workers from purported retaliation and guarantee stronger protections. <\/p>\n

\u201cWorkers suffer from life-altering injuries through their work at Amazon, including repetitive motion injuries and 911 emergencies, which send workers to the hospital regularly, some never to return again,\u201d he said. \u201cContinually nameless faceless HR is either nowhere to be found or excessively difficult to track down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shares of Amazon were up 1.3% on Friday. <\/p>\n

See also:<\/strong> Global tech layoffs have surpassed 201,000 since the start of 2023<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazon.com Inc. has fired a leader in the effort to unionize a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., the union representing the workers there said. The organizer, Jennifer Bates, was terminated amid a monthslong dispute over workers\u2019 compensation after suffering injuries while working at the warehouse, according to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[239],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-17368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-video"],"yoast_head":"\nAmazon fires union organizer at Alabama warehouse, union says | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amazon.com Inc. has fired a leader in the effort to unionize a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., the union representing the workers there said. 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