Amazon unit opts against unionization

In the first unionization vote ever held at an Amazon facility in the United States, a small group of technical workers at the company's warehouse in Middletown, Del., voted overwhelmingly Wednesday against forming a union.

The workers, responsible for maintaining and repairing the warehouse's equipment, voted 21-6 against joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union announced late Wednesday.

The National Labor Relations Board ordered the election after the machinists' union filed a petition Dec. 8 on behalf of the warehouse's 30 technical workers. Wednesday's vote does not affect the vast majority of the 1,500 packers and shippers at the distribution center, one of more than 40 Amazon warehouses across the United States.

"The workers at Amazon faced intense pressure from managers and anti-union consultants hired to suppress this organizing drive," said John Carr, a spokesman for the union.

"Our employees have made it clear that they prefer a direct connection with Amazon," said Mary Osako, a company spokeswoman. "This direct connection is the most effective way to understand and respond to the wants and needs of our employees."

Amazon has vigorously opposed unionization by its employees, saying that it has competitive wages and an open-door policy that encourages employees to bring their concerns directly to management.

Officials of the machinists' union said safety and promotions were among the main concerns of the Delaware technical workers.

Amazon, based in Seattle, has handily beaten back previous rumblings in favor of unionization in the United States, but last year hundreds of its workers in Germany went on strike as part of a long and continuing dispute over wages.