The results from the union election at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama show that the retail giant eked out just 118 more votes than the union – but the final outcome will likely be decided by 416 challenged ballots. A separate tally for an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island is taking place in New York, but has not concluded yet; a tally there is expected to continue Friday. While Amazon won the final tally in Alabama — with 993 votes cast against union representation — and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union garnered 875 votes, the margin that the union lost by is not greater than the number of challenged ballots, the National Labor Relations Board said on Thursday. The total number of ballots counted, including the contested ones, was 2,284 out of 6,153 eligible voters. Each side maintains there are some voters who were ineligible to cast a ballot, and those comprise the 416 ballots that could sway the vote for either side. Last year, when the two sides squared off in their first election battle, Amazon won by a landslide. But the NLRB ruled that Amazon had interfered with that election process and ordered that a second vote be held. The results of the vote will not be certified until objections from Amazon and the RWDSU are filed. They have until April 7 to do so. RWDSU has already filed unfair labor practices charges against Amazon during the final weeks of voting. The NLRB is currently investigating those allegation. In Staten Island, meanwhile, the tally late Thursday stood at 1,518 to 1,154 in favor of unionization when the National Labor Relations Board stopped counting ballots. The final vote for the Staten Island warehouse, called JFK8, is expected to be revealed on Friday after tallying resumes at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
