4 ms·

What I don't see mentioned in the article are right-to-work states. While still effective to a degree, unions tend to have much less bite in these states. I'm l

What I don't see mentioned in the article are right-to-work states. While still effective to a degree, unions tend to have much less bite in these states. I'm left to wonder if Amazon would have the heft/ability to simply relocate all manual labor to states with right-to-work as law, or if that kind of move would be outside of union-busting laws.

cratermoon 6y ago
> simply relocate all manual labor to states with right-to-work as law You can't really relocate warehouses and shipping centers without throwing a wrench in the logistics of the supply chain, especially if you are in the next-day delivery business.
- andrew_ 6y ago
  I've worked several years in the logistics sector and watched as that happened several times during inclement weather cycles. The logistics supply chain is much more nimble than you might think.
  - gamblor956 6y ago
    That works for emergency/temporary logistics where you can temporarily absorb the increased costs as part of doing business. For national logistics, limiting your warehouses to right-to-work states will increase costs so dramatically you would save money dealing with unions.
cestith 6y ago
Alabama is a right to work state. Amazon is telling people at the Bessemer warehouse that they could be forced to pay union dues whether or not they join the union, which is not true under Alabama law.
- Shivetya 6y ago
  However the US Congress is pushing the PRO Act which will basically force you to join any union and it actually forbids right to work laws. It will even permit unions marching against related businesses as a means to intimidate others; in others say your supplier has issues well they can then march on you and vica versa. Welcome to the pay off for the election
  - cestith 6y ago
    Picketing has been legal for a long, long time. There's no law now that says I can't go out and picket on the sidewalk outside Whole Foods or Walmart.
    - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
      The commenter is referring to what's called a "secondary strike". These are heavily regulated under current law (https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/secondary-boycotts-section-8b4 https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/se...) and the PRO act would repeal these rules.
      - cestith 6y ago
        A secondary strike is only one kind of action, and "march on" does not clearly indicate a secondary strike although it may include that. Bannering or leafletting and other types of protest could fall under "march on", could they not? It's legal right now, even as clarified in the link you provided, to encourage a boycott of a struck product at a retailer. What's not legal is organizing a boycott of a whole store because they are stocking one or a few products from a supplier whose products are struck. That is, unless it's a company store that is the same employer as the producer of the products for which production is under a strike.
sct202 6y ago
They used to avoid certain states for reasons like that (also sales tax), but now that they're going for same day or 1 day delivery it isn't feasible to do that anymore. For example, Amazon didn't have any warehouses in Illinois until 2014.

cratermoon 6y ago

> simply relocate all manual labor to states with right-to-work as law You can't really relocate warehouses and shipping centers without throwing a wrench in the logistics of the supply chain, especially if you are in the next-day delivery business.

andrew_ 6y ago
I've worked several years in the logistics sector and watched as that happened several times during inclement weather cycles. The logistics supply chain is much more nimble than you might think.
- gamblor956 6y ago
  That works for emergency/temporary logistics where you can temporarily absorb the increased costs as part of doing business. For national logistics, limiting your warehouses to right-to-work states will increase costs so dramatically you would save money dealing with unions.

cestith 6y ago

Alabama is a right to work state. Amazon is telling people at the Bessemer warehouse that they could be forced to pay union dues whether or not they join the union, which is not true under Alabama law.

Shivetya 6y ago
However the US Congress is pushing the PRO Act which will basically force you to join any union and it actually forbids right to work laws. It will even permit unions marching against related businesses as a means to intimidate others; in others say your supplier has issues well they can then march on you and vica versa. Welcome to the pay off for the election
- cestith 6y ago
  Picketing has been legal for a long, long time. There's no law now that says I can't go out and picket on the sidewalk outside Whole Foods or Walmart.
  - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
    The commenter is referring to what's called a "secondary strike". These are heavily regulated under current law (https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/secondary-boycotts-section-8b4 https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/se...) and the PRO act would repeal these rules.
    - cestith 6y ago
      A secondary strike is only one kind of action, and "march on" does not clearly indicate a secondary strike although it may include that. Bannering or leafletting and other types of protest could fall under "march on", could they not? It's legal right now, even as clarified in the link you provided, to encourage a boycott of a struck product at a retailer. What's not legal is organizing a boycott of a whole store because they are stocking one or a few products from a supplier whose products are struck. That is, unless it's a company store that is the same employer as the producer of the products for which production is under a strike.

sct202 6y ago

They used to avoid certain states for reasons like that (also sales tax), but now that they're going for same day or 1 day delivery it isn't feasible to do that anymore. For example, Amazon didn't have any warehouses in Illinois until 2014.