The company – which was beset by mass protests on Black Friday organized by trade unions across the globe – fiercely opposes the plans. However, pressure for change has grown in tandem with increasing numbers of reports about poor (and sometimes dangerous) workplace conditions, unreasonably long shifts, and unacceptable pay littering media outlets across the globe. Eventually, something was going to budge, and it did when 2,000 workers at the warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, signed union authorization cards in 2020, and an election was filed for in November of the same year. They were subsequently given the opportunity to vote to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) in March 2021 – but workers voted against joining by 1,798 to 738.
A Second Chance
Ballots will be sent out by mail around February 4 and must be returned by March 25, 2022, almost a full year after the initial vote was cast.
