Amazon union vote count to start for Alabama warehouse

The contentious unionization vote at Amazon’s Alabama warehouse is pushing forward with ballots set to be tabulated starting this week. Fallout from what has become known as the SolarWinds breach continued with news of hackers reportedly breaching email accounts of top Department of Homeland Security officials. Meanwhile, a former Google executive on Monday launched a new tech coalition backed by some of the top companies in the industry amid mounting scrutiny from Washington.

TALLY THEM UP: Ballots will start being counted this week in the unionization vote at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., marking a critical step in one of the most significant union elections of the last decade.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will start tabulating the ballots cast by more than 5,800 workers from the warehouse on Tuesday, but the final vote tally may take a week or more to be tabulated and any party is allowed to file objections within five days of the vote count which may delay the issuance of a final tally of ballots.

Amazon has largely fended off unionization challenges in the U.S., but the battle in Bessemer — which has garnered a spotlight in Washington since ballots went out in early February — could lead to the first Amazon union in the U.S.

Amid the unionization push, Amazon has publicly defended its working conditions. Much of the company’s messaging has centered on the $15 wage it has offered workers since 2018, which is above the federal minimum wage.

“Our employees know the truth — starting wages of $15 or more, health care from day one, and a safe and inclusive workplace. We encouraged all of our employees to vote and hope they did so,” Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said in a statement.