After studying political philosophy, he successively worked for the NGO Médecins du Monde (“Doctors of the World”), France’s unemployment benefit system, and a consultancy firm which specialises in changes in the workplace. He’s also the founder of his own consultancy group, Temps commun, and the author of When Religion Joins the Workforce (untranslated, 2017).
Picture: © CP
The first-ever trade union at Amazon is not to be. A majority of workers in the e-commerce giant’s Alabama warehouse voted against forming a union. Why such distrust when social movements in the US are on the rise, including in the Silicon Valley, and the President is endorsing union representation? Denis Maillard gives us his analysis.
“No intimidation, no coercion, no threats […]. It’s not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union. [...] It’s not up to an employer to decide that either. The choice to join a union is up to the workers – full stop.” This is not a French trade unionist speaking. No, it’s the president of the USA. Unexpected, to say the least. So, what is going on here?
Workers in Alabama – and all across America – are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It’s a vitally important choice – one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 1, 2021
Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union. pic.twitter.com/2lzbyyii1g
The facts: for or against forming a union?
In a 2-minute video released on 1 March which was more campaign leaflet than general policy statement, Joe Biden took a stance in the pro-versus anti-union tussle at Amazon. He did not explicitly refer to the 5000 workers at the warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama but his message was clear. In early April, workers were invited to vote for or against forming a union in a company renowned for its anti-trade union outlook, an employer with a workforce of 500,000.
‘From an employer’s point of view, a union is the mark of failure’
Surprising as it may seem to a French onlooker, in the USA, union organisation is only admitted via a worker vote. To form a union, the first step is to obtain the approval of 30% of the workers concerned. Then, a vote can be organised, which requires over 50% of voters to be in favour. Basically, a referendum system with the same “for or against” logic and the same excesses: manifestos, promises, and considerable financial means... Especially on the employer’s part, for whom a union is the mark of a failure: unions generally step in to remedy the absence of health insurance or call for better pay. Union membership is historically low in the USA, just 10.3% of
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