The counting of votes began on Monday in the second union election held at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bessemer. The results are not expected to be released until later this week.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered a new election after it ruled that Amazon corrupted the first mail-in vote.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is again raising questions on the need for a second union vote at the Bessemer facility.
Tuberville and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the ranking member on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, sent a letter to Lisa Henderson, who is the NLRB regional director. The letter once again asks about the motivations behind ordering a second union election. The senators sent a similar letter last month.
The letter expresses unhappiness with the response to their previous letter and added additional questions about the process of the NLRB in deciding to call for a new election in Bessemer.
“Instead of receiving a reply from you, a congressional affairs staffer in Washington, D.C. answered our letter, which answered none of our questions,” reads the letter. “Such disregard of our letter also adds to our concern that the Order is being driven by NLRB’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo. Therefore, we write again with additional questions about your Order and Decision mandating a re-run election for the RWDSU union, in particular, the extent of your communications with NLRB’s headquarters.”
The senators also questioned the actions of NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who they believe showed “blatant political overtones” in her memoranda about the previous union election.
“Ms. Abruzzo has made clear her intention to interfere politically with the decisions of the Regional Directorates,” the letter continues. “This raises concerns that the Order resorting to the extraordinary remedy of a re-run election at Amazon’s Bessemer distribution warehouse is less about improper employer interference, and more about Ms. Abruzzo’s need to guarantee a particular result. In addition, interference by the NLRB’s headquarters in answering oversight requests addressed to Regional Directors, and Regional Directors only, amplifies our skepticism of the Board’s impartiality.”
Tuberville has repeatedly spoken out against any effort to unionize Amazon workers in Alabama.
After the last vote, Tuberville said, “As workers across the country and in Bessemer have demonstrated, they value their Right to Work protections and I’ll continue to be a strong voice for their rights in the Senate.”
The NLRB has not yet responded to the Senators in this matter.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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