© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Do-over union election at Amazon's Bessemer warehouse is too close to call

The Amazon fulfillment warehouse at the center of a unionization drive in Bessemer, Alabama. A second union election at the warehouse has concluded, with no winner yet declared.
Elijah Nouvelage
/
Getty Images
The Amazon fulfillment warehouse at the center of a unionization drive in Bessemer, Alabama. A second union election at the warehouse has concluded, with no winner yet declared.

The counting is over in the second union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. But it's too close to call.

There were 993 "no" votes and 875 "yes" votes, but more than 400 contested ballots remain. According to the National Labor Relations Board, there will be a hearing within a few weeks to decide if any of the challenged ballots will be opened and counted.

More than 6,100 workers were eligible to vote in the do-over election, which was ordered after the NLRB found that Amazon had improperly interfered in last year's tally.

Turnout in this year's vote was down from last year when over half of eligible voters cast ballots. But among those who actually voted this time around, there was greater support for the union. Last year, workers voted more than 2-to-1 against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a well-established national union.

"This time around we were able to educate more about unions," said Jennifer Bates, a warehouse employee, noting that organizers were able to get closer to workers now that the pandemic has eased.

The RWDSU called for every vote to be counted.

"The tenacity and courage of these workers never wavered in this unnecessarily long process," said RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum in a statement. "Workers will have to wait just a little bit longer to ensure their voices are heard."

Meanwhile in a separate Amazon union election on Staten Island in New York, the vote count will continue Friday morning. Roughly 8,000 workers were eligible to vote on whether to join the Amazon Labor Union, an upstart organization led by former and current Amazon warehouse employees. With ballots still to count, the union is in the lead, with 1,518 voting yes so far, and 1,154 voting no.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Andrea Hsu is NPR's labor and workplace correspondent.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content