I love to read news about unions and unionization.<\/p>\n
Today, the Times has an article, pretty exciting to me, about how workers at Amazon, specifically the Bessemer, Alabama plant, are now voting on whether to join a union.<\/a><\/p>\n Great, I thought. So I went on reading and encountered this paragraph containing an advisory about unions — which is, to me, hilarious. Join me in some guffaws? (I’ve done a bit of bolding, so you can quickly see the funniest bits.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that employees understand the facts of joining a union,<\/strong>\u201d Heather Knox, an Amazon<\/strong> spokeswoman<\/strong>, said in a statement. \u201cWe will provide education about that and the election process so they can make an informed decision.<\/strong> If the union vote passes, it will impact everyone at the site and it\u2019s important associates understand what that means for them and their day-to-day life working at Amazon.\u201d The company, which went on a huge hiring spree<\/a> last year as homebound customers sent its sales to a record $386 billion, recorded more than $22 billion in profit.<\/em><\/p>\n Dear Workers of the (Amazon) World,<\/p>\n I feel strongly<\/em> that you should get the facts about joining a union from the actual union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. As the Times article points out:<\/p>\n The retail workers union has a long history of organizing Black workers in the poultry and food production industries, helping them gain basic benefits like paid time off and safety protections and a means to economic security. The union is portraying its efforts in Bessemer as part of that legacy.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis is an organizing campaign in the right-to-work South during the pandemic at one of the largest companies in the world,\u201d said Benjamin Sachs, a professor of labor and industry at Harvard Law School. \u201cThe significance of a union victory there really couldn\u2019t be overstated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n On to victory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I love to read news about unions and unionization. Today, the Times has an article, pretty exciting to me, about how workers at Amazon, specifically the Bessemer, Alabama plant, are now voting on whether to join a union. Great, I … Continue reading