Chronic. “Liked” more than 60,000 times on Twitter, this video of Joe Biden has gone unnoticed in Europe and it’s a shame. As serene as Donald Trump might seem violent, the American president launched on the 1er March, an encouragement to workers to “Be heard better” by unionizing. A very explicit two-minute and twenty-second “leaflet”: “There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threat (…). Every worker should be free to join a trade union. It’s your right, not your employer’s right. No employer can take it away from you. “
Workers in Alabama – and all across America – are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It’s a… https://t.co/aNdHmYyFUb
Without naming Amazon, but in a clear reference to the then-ongoing battle for the creation of a union in the firm’s giant warehouse in Bessemer (Alabama), Mr. Biden delivered a powerful message that is hard to imagine a president French, albeit on the left, to articulate as follows: “The choice to join a union is up to the workers. Period. “
The stake was immense. Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, tolerates no unions in its 800 American warehouses. Its 500,000 employees make it the second largest employer in the United States. The“Intimidation” and the ” threat “, those who have sought to organize against the “hellish pace” at Amazon have tasted it.
In Bessemer, the firm has deployed great means to influence the vote on the creation of a union. Threat of layoffs in the event of unionization, rain of SMS and emails urging to vote “no”, propaganda posters even in the toilets, traffic lights changed at the exit of the car park to prevent contact with activists, etc.
So far, Amazon has won the game. Neither the efforts of the RWDSU trade union nor the strong words of Joe Biden were enough to convince the 5,800 employees of Amazon Alabama. They were only 738 (against 1 798) to plebiscite the plan to create a union. Lost, the Battle of Bessemer nonetheless took on a symbolic dimension, in the United States and well beyond.
Willingness to turn the page
The Covid-19 blew up Amazon’s business and profits. The firm employs 1.2 million people worldwide, with an increase of 50% in one year. Containment has boosted its popularity in the United States. But the pandemic has at the same time weighed on working conditions and made employees aware of the crucial nature of their activity and of their collective strength.
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