Amazon Union Drive Losing by Wide Margin With Nearly Half Votes Counted

Amazon.com warehouse employees in Alabama were on track to reject unionization by a 2-1 margin with almost half the votes counted in an election seen as a potential turning point for organized labor. 

Of the 3,215 ballots received, workers so far voted 1,100-463 against forming a union at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. The vote count will resume at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) Friday.  Unionizing Amazon, the second-largest private employer in America, has been a goal for the U.S. labor movement, which is aiming to reverse long-running declines in membership. Union membership fell to 11% of the eligible workforce in 2020 from 20% in 1983, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has said.  Even the White House was closely monitoring the ballot count with Erika-Dinkel Smith, a senior member of President Joe Biden's labor engagement team, among more than 250 participants who watched the vote count on a video call.