The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has rejected Amazon’s motion asking the federal agency to install a camera that would monitor ballot boxes containing union votes submitted by employees at its Alabama facility. The NLRB said: “Though the mail ballot election in this matter is large, it is not, as the Employer asserts, of a ‘special nature.’”
CNBC reports that the NLRB has rejected a request from e-commerce giant Amazon to install a video camera system to watch over boxes containing thousands of ballots in the company’s high-stakes union election in Alabama.
The vote in Bessemer, Alabama, concluded on Monday, around 5,800 Amazon workers at the facility were eligible to vote on joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Vote counting began at 11:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday but the final results of the vote may not be known for days or weeks as Amazon and the RWDSU can contest ballots.
Amazon requested that video cameras be placed in the NLRB’s Birmingham office where votes would be tabulated, to monitor ballot boxes in off-hours between counting. The NLRB denied this request in an order on Monday.
Lisa Henderson, the acting regional director at the NLRB, said in a ruling:
Though the mail ballot election in this matter is large, it is not, as the Employer asserts, of a ‘special nature.’
The Region will conduct the ballot count within view of observers participating via virtual platform as well as in-person observers, and in accordance with Agency procedures and protocols, including those for securing ballot boxes.
Amazon requested that the NLRB apply other enhanced security measures around the ballot boxes in an attempt to prevent tampering. Amazon reportedly asked the NLRB to change or reset security locks on the storage room’s door where the ballots would be held, provide Amazon and the RWDS with an electronic or physical log of when the storage room door is opened, and user tamper-proof tape on the ballot boxes or storage room door to “ensure no unauthorized access to the envelopes, ballot boxes, or storage room occurs.”
Amazon has previously clashed with the NLRB over the union vote, objecting to plans to offer mail-in votes to workers due to the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon stated at the time that it believes the best approach to an election would be having it conducted in person, and that it “provided the NLRB with a safe, confidential and convenient proposal for associates to vote on-site, which is in the best interest of all parties—associate convenience, vote fidelity and timeliness of vote count.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com