Amazon union election in Alabama hangs on 416 ballots contested

The results of the union election at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, show the retail giant received just 118 votes more than the union – but the final result will likely be decided by 416 contested ballots.

A separate census for an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island is taking place in New York but is ongoing; a balance sheet there is expected to continue on Friday.

While Amazon won the final count in Alabama — by 993 votes cast against union representation — and the retail, wholesale, and department store union got 875 votes, the lead the union lost is no bigger than the number of ballots contested, the National Labor This was announced by the Relationships Council on Thursday.

The total number of ballots counted, including those contested, was 2,284 out of 6,153 eligible voters.

Each side claims there are some voters who were not eligible to vote, and these include the 416 ballots that could affect voting for either side.

Last year, when the two sides went head-to-head in their first election campaign, Amazon won by a landslide victory. But the NLRB decided that Amazon had interfered in that voting process and ordered a second vote to be held.

The results of the vote will not be confirmed until objections are filed by Amazon and RWDSU. They have until April 7th to do this.

RWDSU has already filed unfair labor practices charges against Amazon in the final weeks of the vote. The NLRB is currently investigating this allegation.

Meanwhile, in Staten Island late Thursday the tally was 1,518 to 1,154 in favor of unionization when the National Labor Relations Board halted ballot counting.

The final vote for the Staten Island warehouse, dubbed JFK8, is expected to be announced Friday after the count resumes at 10 a.m. Eastern time.