President Biden offered his support for workers seeking to form unions as Amazon employees in Bessemer, Alabama, begin voting processes to decide on creating the company’s first union this month.
The president did not mention the company by name but offered support for Alabama workers and other workers across the country to “have a ‘free’ and ‘fair’ choice” whether to join a union, in a Twitter video Sunday evening.
“Workers in Alabama — and all across America — are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It’s a vitally important choice — one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers,” Biden tweeted. “Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.”
Workers in Alabama – and all across America – are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It’s a vitally important choice – one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.
Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union. pic.twitter.com/2lzbyyii1g
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 1, 2021
His statement came one day before a voting initiative in the Bessemer area began for Amazon employees to join a retail-based union, organized by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.
From now until March 29, workers will be eligible to submit votes on whether to become the first Amazon branch in the country to unionize, to make “working conditions safer, fight for needed benefits and ensure good jobs in our community,” according to a statement from the initiative.
THOUSANDS OF AMAZON WORKERS IN ALABAMA TO VOTE ON CREATING COMPANY’S FIRST-EVER US UNION
In Sunday’s video, the president called for “no intimidation” tactics by any outside sources during the monthlong voting period.
“I’ve long said America wasn’t built by Wall Street; it was built by the middle class. And unions built the middle class,” Biden said.
He emphasized his support for unions for placing “power in the hands of workers,” saying, “they level the playing field.”
On Feb. 17, Biden and other senior White House officials gathered with labor union leaders to discuss job growth strategies related to the American Rescue Plan and creating clean energy and manufacturing jobs. One of the key elements of his campaign promises included strengthening union groups and improving collective bargaining deals between companies and labor groups.
“We haven’t had this aggressive and positive of a statement from a president of the United States on behalf of workers in decades,” Faiz Shakir, former campaign manager to Sen. Bernie Sanders and the founder of More Perfect Union said.
Amazon has a history of evading unionization efforts, often claiming unions’ goals are already met by the company’s benefits.
The Alabama union said last year it was calling for changes in connection with employee discipline, firing methods, and safety. In a statement at the time, Amazon said its workplace “already offers what these groups claim they want.”
Last year, representatives of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union filed paperwork to conduct an election allowing Amazon workers to vote on whether to join the union.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to White House representatives and Amazon’s public relations team but did not immediately receive a response.
