EXPLAINER: What we know about the Amazon union vote count

EXPLAINER: What we know about the Amazon union vote count

SeattlePI.com

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If you want your bottle of laundry detergent or shipment of toilet paper, Amazon can get it to your doorstep the next day.

But if you want to know how workers at an Amazon warehouse voted on whether or not to unionize, you're going to have to wait.

The final day for the nearly 6,000 workers in Bessemer, Alabama to cast their ballots was March 29. But it could take several more days or even weeks to review and tally everything before we know the outcome.

The vote itself has garnered national attention because of the potentially wide-reaching implications. Labor organizers hope a win in Bessemer will inspire thousands of workers nationwide — and not just at Amazon — to consider unionizing. For Amazon, it would mean a big blow to its profits and could alter its business operations.

Here's what we know about the vote:

WHAT DO ORGANIZERS WANT?

Besides higher pay, they want Amazon to give warehouse workers more break time and to be treated with respect. Many complain about their back-breaking 10-hour workdays with only two 30-minute breaks. Workers are on their feet for most of that time, packing boxes, shelving products or unpacking goods that arrive in trucks.

WHAT’S AMAZON’S RESPONSE?

Amazon argues the warehouse created thousands of jobs with an average pay of $15.30 per hour — more than twice the minimum wage in Alabama. Workers also get benefits including health care, vision and dental insurance without paying union dues, the company said.

HOW ARE THE VOTES BEING TALLIED?

The National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process, is going through the votes with representatives from Amazon and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Names and signatures are being reviewed, but not how those workers voted, which will be done afterwards in...

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