(Update April 9 with election results: Once the votes were counted, the majority of the votes were opposed to unionization. 5,800 employees were eligible to vote. 3,215 ballots were cast, with 1,798 against the union and 738 for the union. This doesn’t include 500 challenged ballots, but they don’t have to be counted since that number wouldn’t change the results. This means that only about 13% of eligible employees were in favor of the union. Meaning the majority of employees had more trust in Amazon to treat them fairly. This provides a positive indication of the true working conditions at Amazon. It also shows the importance of being mindful of the below lessons as a small number of disgruntled employees can have a major impact on an organization and its reputation.)
Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, have now finished casting their votes regarding unionization, and the counting began Tuesday (March 30). With Amazon being one of the largest employers in the country and currently having no unions, this is quite a significant event. While we don’t often think about unions in the nonprofit or church world, there are some important takeaways for leaders in all organizations. (And I’ll tell you – unions can be in nonprofit organizations. When I worked for Wellstar, we acquired 5 hospitals from another company. A portion of those employees were unionized at the time, so we inherited that as well.)
Leaders must show they care.
This creates the foundation for the rest of the takeaways. Employees want to know their boss cares about them. They want to know that their organization cares about them. That it’s not all about productivity numbers and seats being filled. That their leaders care about them as individuals. In the absence of feeling like the boss/organization cares about them, employees will look to find someone else who does.
Immediate supervisor actions are hugely important.
If you work for a dysfunctional organization but have a great boss, you’ll probably have a pretty decent experience working there. The opposite is also true. If you work for a great organization but have a terrible boss, you’ll have a miserable experience. The actions of the immediate supervisor play a huge role in an employee’s experience.
I’ve never worked with Amazon (just seem to somehow order something almost every day), so I have no idea what kind of employer they actually are. But I do know that the first employee to call the union, Darryl Richardson, did so because of the actions of his direct leaders. Richardson has worked at Amazon for a year as a picker. Not long after he started working there, he says a PO manager asked him to sign a form verifying the TOT (time off task) that he was waiting to be assigned to a station. For that particular day in question, he waited for an hour. According to Richardson, the manager said it was a write-up then said it wasn’t. Regardless, TOT seemed like a bad thing. Richardson also said that bathroom breaks were considered TOT. He went on to say:
“It just made me feel bad because employees getting fired for no reason – for no reason whatsoever. I ain’t never been in a situation like this before, never. And I said, something got to change. So when I got home, I Googled, which union represent Amazon? RWDSU came up, and that’s how it got to this point now.”
If you’re a boss, your behavior determines what kind of experience your employees have each day. You determine whether they enjoy working there and feel treated fairly. Your actions each and every day matter and can have long-lasting effects – either for positive or for negative.
Employees must know they’re being treated fairly.
We don’t know all the in’s and out’s of Richardson’s situation, but we do know what he’s shared about his experience. In the midst of his wording, you can tell he didn’t feel treated fairly. On top of that, he felt like others were being treated unfairly too. It’s crucial for employees (1) to be treated fairly and (2) to have confidence that they’re being treated fairly.
Make sure employees understand what’s expected of them. Train new employees about policies and procedures. According to Richardson, he didn’t know about TOT until the write-up conversation. That should never happen. Employees should know expectations ahead of time and then be held accountable for them. If you have a concern about one of your employees, get their side first before you determine whether it warrants disciplinary action.
When employees have a clear sense of expectations and know they’ll be given a fair shot, it’s less likely you’ll have a dynamic where employees feel like others are “fired for no reason.” Even though employees won’t know the details of what happens with others, they’ll know how you treat them (and how they’ve seen you treat others). They’ll know your reputation and will be able to trust that you’re being fair.
Make sure policies and procedures are fair (and humane).
Again, I’ve never worked at Amazon or talked to anyone in their HR department, but there have been multiple concerning reports about their procedures. Richardson referenced bathroom break issues, and so have others. While the reports I’ve seen came from Amazon locations other than Bessemer, no doubt this is playing a role in the Bessemer employees’ desire to unionize.
One employee sent a news outlet an email from a department manager addressing “poop bags” being left in delivery vehicles. The manager goes on to say:
“We’ve noticed an uptick recently of all kinds of unsanitary garbage being left inside bags: used masks, gloves, bottles of urine. By scanning the QR code on the bag, we can easily identify the DA who was in possession of the bag last. These behaviors are unacceptable, and will result in Tier 1 Infractions going forward.”
Unfortunately, the manager’s email focuses on it being unacceptable to leave these items in the vehicle. It doesn’t say anything about looking into why this is happening. Some employees have reported that productivity expectations were so high that this was the only way to meet them.
In designing policies and procedures, make sure they’re fair, realistic, and humane. Think about how they would sound to someone without a ton of background knowledge. Would they sound fair to that employee’s family member? How about on social media? This is especially important when designing productivity metrics. Consider the domino effect of any metrics you put into place. (Read more about designing helpful productivity metrics.)
Have open communication with new employees.
Yes, there should be open communication with everyone, but pay particular attention to your new employees. Remember, Richardson decided things were unfair quickly into his time at Amazon. Over my years in HR, it’s often been the new employees who reached out with fairness concerns.
We think a lot about onboarding new employees and training them on policies and procedures. That’s an important part of this. Help your new employees learn the ropes. Encourage coworkers to provide support and guidance.
Another part of this is being open to feedback and ideas from your new employees. They bring fresh ideas and perspectives. They may have questions about your procedures or suggest other methods. Be open to these conversations. Take the time to explain the “why” behind a procedure. Listen to new ideas. Even if the ideas are ones you’ve tried before and know don’t work, take the time to have that discussion. Explain why things are done that way. Keep the door open for other suggestions.
Ultimately, when leaders and organizations take the time to make sure they treat employees the right way, everyone benefits. Whatever time and energy it takes upfront, it’s worth it. Not only is it the right thing to do, but you can save yourself from having to deal with major issues down the road.
Photo credit: By RoschetzkylstockPhoto
