Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the union vote at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama:
The heroic Amazon workers in Bessemer have made history, helping pave the path toward workplace justice for all. Even under systematic bullying and intimidation by one of the largest companies in the world, they fought to reclaim a rightful share of power and take the future into their own hands. They spoke out and shared a reality that too many working people recognize—the brutality of being underpaid, overworked and constantly afraid of what lies ahead.
That’s why more than three-fourths of Americans supported this organizing drive, and it’s why this moment is reverberating far beyond a small town in Alabama. America’s workers are pushing ourselves harder than ever, rewarded only with more insecurity and disrespect. Our bosses make in a day what we couldn’t hope to save in a lifetime, while their promises of progress have been offered, delayed and broken more times than we can remember.
The workers who sought membership in RWDSU are at the vanguard of a surging movement for workplace democracy. Americans want to organize unions, and it should never be this hard to do so.
Amazon’s outrageous behavior is only the latest reminder that our rights have been steadily eroded by a handful of powerful elites. We can’t allow this societal failure to deprive one more worker of the freedom to organize. This is the fight of our time, and it starts with passing the PRO Act.
Contact: John Weber (202) 637-5018