On March 29, the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, was located at the center of the high-profile trade union movement. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption

On March 29, the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama was located in the center of the high-profile trade union movement.

Amazon Alabama warehouse workers are voting on whether to form the company's first union warehouse in the United States.

After an agency review found that Amazon improperly pressured warehouse employees to vote against joining the union, a U.S. Labor Council official was ordering the withdrawal, which was enough to invalidate the initial election results. The decision was issued on Monday by the regional director of the National Labor Relations Board. Amazon is expected to appeal.

The news brought the Bessemer warehouse outside Birmingham back into the focus of attention because it was a harbinger of the efforts of Amazon's labor organization. Amazon is now the second largest private employer in the United States with more than 950,000 employees.

The union movement is led by the retail, wholesale and department store unions. Its president, Stuart Appelbaum (Stuart Appelbaum) welcomed the development on Monday:

"Today's decision confirms what we have been saying-Amazon's intimidation and intervention prevent workers from having a fair say in whether they want to establish a union in the workplace."

Amazon spokesman Kelly Nantel (Kelly Nantel) pointed out that in the last vote, the vast majority of warehouse employees chose not to join the union. "It is disappointing that the NLRB has now decided not to count these votes. As a company, we believe that unions are not the best choice for our employees."

In the first attempt in early 2021 — considered the most influential union election in modern history — Bessemer workers voted more than 2 to 1 against joining the union. After gaining national support including President Biden, other politicians and celebrities, the high-profile push to organize Amazon American workers failed miserably.

Due to pandemic concerns, the voting was conducted in April by mail. More than half of the warehouse staff voted.

The union filed a legal challenge to the election, accusing Amazon of unfair labor practices. Amazon denied the accusation. The NLRB held a hearing before the hearing officer last month and recommended rescheduling the Bessemer election.

Amazon appealed the proposal, saying it did not violate the law or intimidate workers, and called on the agency and union to accept the Bessemer workers' choice. The union insisted that Amazon "cheated (and) was caught."

The labor union is an important presence of Amazon in Europe, but so far, the company has been boycotting the efforts of labor organizations in the United States. Bessemer's election is the first union vote since 2014. The Truckers Union passed a resolution that will give priority to its Amazon union movement.

In October, workers from the Staten Island warehouse cluster in New York petitioned federal officials to hold union elections, but later withdrew their request.

Previously, the NLRB hearing provided new clues to Amazon's anti-union movement during the Bessemer election. A warehouse worker testified that during a mandatory meeting at the facility, managers stated that if employees voted for the union, the fulfillment center might be closed. Other workers said they were told the union would waste their dues on fancy vacations and cars.

A key controversy was on a new mailbox in the warehouse’s private parking lot. Amazon said that the mailbox was installed by the United States Postal Service in order to make voting "convenient, safe and private." However, the mailbox was placed in an Amazon tent next to the workplace, prompting some employees to wonder whether the company was trying to monitor votes.

U.S. Postal Service Officer Jay Smith (Jay Smith), a contact person for major customers such as Amazon, testified that he was surprised to see a company-branded tent around the mailbox because the company seemed to have found a way to get around His explicit instructions do not place anything physically on the mailbox.

But Smith and other postal service officials also testified that no one at Amazon obtained the key to access outgoing mail, or in this case, the election ballot. An Amazon employee who supports the union said at the hearing that he saw company security personnel open the mailbox.

Editor's note: Amazon is one of the financial backers of NPR.

Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Press Room contributed to this report.