Amazon is facing backlash from employees and the public after the validity of a recent vote to unionize was questioned.
According to a National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) hearing officer, Amazon interfered with a union election by installing a ballot collection mailbox and disseminating anti-union paraphernalia, Reuters reported. Previously, it was reported that Amazon employees in Alabama rejected the idea of joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) by a 2 to 1 vote margin in April.
The NLRB officer recommended that the vote be rerun.
"The question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers’ decision and not the employer's," RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum told Reuters.
Reuters also reported Amazon plans to appeal the recommendation and published Amazon's statement on the matter.
"Our employees had a chance to be heard during a noisy time when all types of voices were weighing into the national debate, and at the end of the day, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of a direct connection with their managers and the company," Amazon said.
In response to the recommendation, a regional director of the NLRB will determine if a rerun of the vote is to be conducted.
Reuters reported that Amazon employees may have been afraid to lose their jobs if they voted in favor of the unionizing effort.
A report released by the responding hearing officer said Amazon installed a ballot box close to surveillance cameras during the election, leaving employees under the impression they were being watched. Monitoring employee efforts to organize is considered illegal under the U.S. labor law.
Reuters reported that the popular warehouse company also held in-person meetings encouraging employees to vote against the union, sent text messages to employees and displayed campaign literature in at least one warehouse.