In a Thursday filing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Seattle-based online retail giant formally requested that a group of Alabama warehouse trying to form a union be required to\u00a0vote in person<\/strong>, rather than by mail, according to\u00a0Bloomberg<\/em><\/a>. The company also requested a\u00a0postponement of the vote<\/strong>\u00a0so the NLRB can reconsider its earlier ruling which gives workers\u00a0the next two months to vote by mail<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A group of workers at Amazon\u2019s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse filed paperwork\u00a0in November<\/a>\u00a0for an election to decide whether to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a rare step for workers at a company whose U.S. workforce isn\u2019t unionized.\u00a0The NLRB, which oversees union votes, earlier this month said the vote would be\u00a0conducted by mail<\/a>, citing standards set up during the pandemic to keep workers and staffers safe<\/strong>. –<\/em>Bloomberg<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Amazon objected to the NLRB’s decision – saying they had ‘unfairly dismissed the company’s argument’ that its facility is\u00a0safer than the surrounding Jefferson County<\/strong>, which hit a 20% COVID-19 positive test rate earlier this month. The company argues that in-person voting would have “fully minimized any risk of transmission,” and that the NLRB’s decision on mail-in votes was “based on speculation and conjecture, and without ever balancing the purported risk of virus spread against the public policy that \u2018strongly favors\u2019 allowing employees to vote in person.”<\/p>\n The world\u2019s largest online retailer said that\u00a0a mail election raised the risk of fraud and the coercion of workers<\/strong>. It also said\u00a0the process would depress turnout,<\/strong>\u00a0arguing that as many as 29% of its more than 5,800 employees eligible to vote wouldn\u2019t do so\u00a0or would return incorrectly completed ballots<\/strong>. –<\/em>Bloomberg<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The solution, according to Amazon? Hold the election in a\u00a0heated tent in the facility’s parking lot<\/strong>\u00a0in conjunction with software designed to ensure social distancing. The NLRB says conditions are\u00a0too dangerous for in-person voting<\/strong>, and that acquiescing to Amazon’s demands might give workers the impression that government employees conducting the vote might be receiving inappropriate benefits from the company.<\/p>\n “The most important factors in my decision are the safety of all election participants and the enfranchisement of all voters,” wrote the NLRB’s acting regional director in the Board’s decision, adding “Both of these factors weigh in favor of a mail ballot election.”<\/p>\n ___ Amazon Demands In-Person Union Vote After Arguing Mail-In Ballots ‘Raise Risk Of Fraud’ ZeroHedge.com Surprise! Mail-in ballots\u00a0raise the risk of fraud\u00a0– according to Amazon. In a Thursday filing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Seattle-based online retail giant … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/bezos%202_0.jpg?itok=N1b8c8pg\")
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