As workers at a warehouse in the Raleigh, North Carolina, suburbs decide this week whether they want to collectively bargain with the retail behemoth, Amazon (AMZN.O) is facing its second workers’ union referendum in as many months.
Employees at the five-year-old Garner warehouse will have until Friday to vote for or against the new organization Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE. CAUSE aims to pressure Amazon for a number of issues, including increased pay, longer breaks, and more flexibility in their schedule. To join the union, they will require a simple majority of votes.
The first successful unionization attempt at the national grocery chain, which Amazon purchased for about $14 billion in 2017, took place in January when employees at a Whole Foods shop in Philadelphia decided to form a union.
The possibility of additional organizing at one of Amazon’s around 1,000 warehouses located throughout the United States could result from a successful union ballot, which could raise the company’s labor and logistical expenses. However, the organizers’ efforts might be stifled if the vote fails.
According to CAUSE secretary Italo Medelius-Marsano, the organization hopes to bargain for improved job safeguards, earnings of up to $30 per hour, and one-hour breaks—double the amount of time currently permitted for lunch, he said. Medelius-Marsano, 28, who works at the warehouse’s shipping dock, stated, “We deserve better for the work we do day in and day out.” “Amazon is able to pay its employees more than they do.”
