Amazon Workers Narrowly Reject Union Drive at British Warehouse

[Pelican Press 0]

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Workers Narrowly ******* Union Drive at British Warehouse

A ****** to form the first union at an

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warehouse in Britain came to an end this week, as organizers of the effort fell short by just 28 votes.

About 2,600 employees at the warehouse in Coventry, in the Midlands of England, took part in a ballot for union recognition, which would have forced

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to negotiate collectively with the bulk of workers there over working conditions, as well as pay, holiday and other benefits. More than 3,000

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workers were eligible to vote.

But in the end, the effort *******, with only 49.5 percent voting in favor in a poll approved by the Central Arbitration Committee, a government body. It is the closest any

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center in Britain has come to being unionized.

The results come amid accusations by GMB, a nationwide union, lawyers and some workers that the ********* tech giant had been heavy-handed in its efforts to discourage unionization.

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has a history of pushing back against union movements. In the ******* States, only one warehouse, on Staten Island, has a formally recognized union. A labor union in Germany has been trying to get collective bargaining powers for more than a decade.

The vote fell “agonizingly short” of a majority, said GMB, which counts

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employees among its 500,000 members from various occupations.

“

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bosses have created a culture of ***** for low-paid workers trying to improve their pay, terms and conditions,” said Stuart Richards, an organizer at GMB.

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defended its workplace practices. “We place enormous value on engaging directly with our employees,” said Tim Hobden, a spokesman for

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, adding that the company has “always worked hard to listen to them, act on their feedback and invest heavily in great pay, benefits and skills development — all in a safe and inclusive workplace.”

GMB cannot make another bid for formal recognition for three years, but workers are continuing a legal claim that accuses

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of illegally trying to induce employees to quit the union.

Workers claimed the company pressured them to attend several seminars that suggested the union would jeopardize employees’ pay and benefits. They also said the company liberally displayed QR codes to make it easy to cancel union membership, which lawyers said was a breach of British law that prohibited companies from making offers to employees to not be in a union.

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said that attending the meetings was voluntary and that GMB also held meetings in the warehouse.

“

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has thrown everything at it,” said Rosa Curling, a director at Foxglove, a legal group whose cases focus on big tech companies and is representing about 900

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workers in a claim against the company.

Paramanathan Pradeep, 42, has worked at the Coventry warehouse for about six years alongside his wife and parents. He said the company had tried “scaring” workers by suggesting that union recognition could mean the end of overtime, an important source of additional income for many workers.

In the Coventry warehouse, union activities have been intensifying for the past two years. But the ****** for unionization has been a long and halting journey. In August 2022, employees walked off the job to protest a pay increase that they felt was insulting after working during the hectic days of the pandemic. Impromptu cafeteria sit-ins broke out in several locations. Since then, about 1,200 workers in Coventry signed up with GMB, which gives them individual representation in the workplace but not collective bargaining powers.

“The last two years have been monumental for us,” said Amanda Gearing, a GMB organizer who has been supporter

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workers for more than a decade. “These workers that have taken off on a massive journey.”

At the warehouse, which is about 400,000 square feet spread over two floors, employees tend to work 10-hour shifts, four days a week, as well as overtime. The site handles only small packages, filled with things like candles, hand soap and baby clothes, which arrive from suppliers, are sorted and sent out to other distribution centers within a few hours.

In the past year and a half, there have been more than 30 days of strikes as some employees are calling for the higher hourly pay of 15 pounds (about $19.50). The wage for associates, a majority of the workers at

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facilities, is £12.30 to £13 per hour, depending on the location. That has increased 20 percent in the past two years and is above the national minimum wage of £11.44.

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#

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#Workers #Narrowly #******* #Union #Drive #British #Warehouse

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