Many young people don’t even know what a union is. They are susceptible to anti-union propaganda that masquerades as impartial information such as the web site unionfacts.com. Employees should always consider the source of the information they are receiving. I feel fairly confident saying that information suggesting unions hurt labor originates from corporate sources, and information suggesting unions help labor originates from labor sources and public entities whose mandate is to protect workers. In other words, groups who have to pay for labor in contrast with groups who sell their labor and protect labor.
Probably the safest and the most balanced information is available from the above mentioned National Labor Relations Board and the United States Department of Labor. The DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that median weekly wages in the transportation and warehousing industry in 2015 were roughly 30% higher for union employees compared to non-union.
I haven’t heard the company mention unions since Matt’s statements at the All Hands meeting April 2015, but I don’t believe it feels the need to. It has developed initiatives to deter such developments. But if Amazon feels that the associates of SDF8 or any other Amazon facility are leaning towards unionization, it will bring out the big guns. Amazon has in place well-oiled and well-financed anti-union machinery.