Biden Warns Amazon to Keep Hands Off Union Drive, Draws Cheers From Workers

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Newsweek

BY SCOTT MCDONALD ON 3/1/21 AT 12:08 AM EST

President Joe Biden spoke to workers in America on Sunday who will soon vote on whether to join a union. Though the message was for all of the nation, it was really meant for a faction of Amazon workers in Alabama.

Employees at an Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, have begun mail-in voting to join a union, and it's the largest such attempt in three decades of Amazon's existence.

Biden's speech was met by applause from workers Sunday night.

First, here was Biden's video message.

Link to tweet

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/biden-warns-amazon-keep-hands-off-union-drive-draws-cheers-workers-1572715?piano_t=1

[Judi Lynn]

1. Biden urges workers to 'make your voice heard' as Amazon employees vote on union

FEBRUARY 28, 20219:17 PMUPDATED AN HOUR AGO

By Reuters Staff

3 MIN READ


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden defended workers’ rights to form unions and warned against intimidation of workers in a video posted on Twitter on Sunday night, as Amazon.com Inc employees in Alabama vote on whether to unionize.

Biden didn’t mention Amazon, but specifically referenced “workers in Alabama” in the video and a tweet introducing it. He said every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union, and no employer could take that away. “It’s your right...So make your voice heard,” he said.

“Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union, but especially Black and Brown workers,” Biden said in the video. “There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda. No supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences.”

Amazon, America’s second-biggest private employer, has no unionized labor in the United States, and workers at its fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, would be the first if they vote in favor. Such a decision could encourage workers attempting to organize at other Amazon facilities.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-amazon-com-labor/biden-urges-workers-to-make-your-voice-heard-as-amazon-employees-vote-on-union-idUSKCN2AT140?rpc=401&

[Deuxcents]

2. Am I dreaming?!

I’m retired CWA AFL/CIO.. I’m so proud of President Biden tonight. I’m gonna play the tape again.. it’s that great

[demosincebirth]

3. Link or video?

[whathehell]

6. I feel the same way!

Last edited Mon Mar 1, 2021, 05:00 AM - Edit history (1)

This is LONG overdue.

[calimary]

7. Agreed!

Retired SAG/AFTRA.

Proud longtime union member.

Gratifying to see! I’m LOVING this President!

[cstanleytech]

4. A well run union can be an asset to an employer just as much as it can be for the workers.

[Hekate]

5. Absolutely true

[mopinko]

10. no kidding. i used to work in a western electric plant.

i got in trouble cuz i was young, and old guys were always trying to buddy up to me.
i got written up for wasting time. i was naive at the time, and didnt point the finger where it belonged.

but that was how discipline in the plant worked. the shop steward did it all.
what corp doesnt want to outsource that?

[ancianita]

8. Love from AFT Local #1 to Biden and Bessemer workers!

[twodogsbarking]

9. People need unions.

You can't trust employers or the government. Go Joe.

[LiberalFighter]

11. The way I see it. Companies have no legitimate right to interfere.

Why? Because it is an employee organization that the employees want to join that serves the employees. Management or the company cannot be members.

Just as the company cannot prevent an employee from joining a specific church, tell their employees which school their children can attend, or forming recreational teams consisting of co-workers.

[Ollie Garkie]

12. When will the vote

Be over? When will we know if there will be a union there?

[Aristus]

13. I hope all those "Joe Biden has to EARN my vote!" types are eating a steaming helping

of crow right about now...

[speak easy]

16. There are big steaming helpings of Jim Crow being served

right across the country.

Are the Biden sceptics out there protesting in the streets, as the GOP rams through its white power agenda?

[Wicked Blue]

14. YAY for Biden

He is awesome!

[Hekate]

15. I think I love this guy

[Hortensis]

17. :) Biden of course RAN on a comprehensive plan to restore union power

and all the rest of the labor powers that created the large, prosperous middle classes of the past. There are a lot of lies being published right now, but Biden has always been a strong supporter of working people and labor rights.

This is a bare outline; details at https://joebiden.com/empowerworkers/ (of course including the $15 MW) make this a long read, but with a lot of questions excitingly answered.

THE BIDEN PLAN FOR STRENGTHENING WORKER ORGANIZING, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, AND UNIONS

Strong unions built the great American middle class. Everything that defines what it means to live a good life and know you can take care of your family – the 40 hour workweek, paid leave, health care protections, a voice in your workplace – is because of workers who organized unions and fought for worker protections. Because of organizing and collective bargaining, there used to be a basic bargain between workers and their employers in this country that when you work hard, you share in the prosperity your work created.

Today, however, there’s a war on organizing, collective bargaining, unions, and workers. It’s been raging for decades, and it’s getting worse ... The results have been predictable: rising income inequality, stagnant real wages, the loss of pensions, exploitation of workers, and a weakening of workers’ voices in our society.

Biden is proposing a plan to grow a stronger, more inclusive middle class – the backbone of the American economy – by strengthening public and private sector unions and helping all workers bargain successfully for what they deserve.

As president, Biden will: (Extensive explanations of how he'll do these at the link.)

* Check the abuse of corporate power over labor and hold corporate executives personally accountable for violations of labor laws;
* Encourage and incentivize unionization and collective bargaining; and
* Ensure that workers are treated with dignity and receive the pay, benefits, and workplace protections they deserve.

This plan is a critical addition to Biden’s proposals
* to ensure all workers have access to quality, affordable health care;
* to guarantee all workers are able to send their children to quality public schools and have access to universal pre-kindergarten;
* to provide education and training beyond high school, including federally Registered Apprenticeships;
* to support a clean energy revolution that creates millions of unionized middle-class jobs; and
* to meet our commitment to invest first in American workers and ensure that labor is at the table to negotiate every trade deal.