‘It’s David vs Goliath’: Inside Amazon workers’ historic battle for trade union recognition

In an Amazon warehouse in Coventry, workers might be about to make history.

More than 3,000 employees at the West Midlands facility are voting on a ballot that could “force Amazon to recognise a union in the UK for the first time”.

If staff vote to support recognition, GMB – the union running the poll – would be given the right to represent them in negotiations regarding pay and conditions.

It would be the first time the tech giant has recognised a union in the UK.

“It’s a David and Goliath battle,” Ferdousara Uddin, a regional organiser with the GMB, told the Big Issue.

“But the Amazon workers have said over and over again. There is no company that is too big or too powerful that it can ignore the voice of its workers.”

GMB are calling for a £15 minimum wage and improvements to working conditions. But they’ll only get the opportunity to call for these if the ballot passes. The result is expected Monday 15 July.

It’s been a long process to get to this point. During the pandemic, Amazon profits boomed; the company is currently worth a staggering $2.08tn. Yet the pay rises offered to staff have been “insulting”, Uddin explains, amounting to little more than 50p per hour.

“It’s not enough to tackle cost of living, not at all,” she said.

Workers in Coventry launched a spontaneous protest over pay in January last year, then reached out to the GMB to help them organise.

Individual Amazon employees are allowed to join a union, like any worker in the UK. But a union only gets collective bargaining power when it is legally recognised by a company – and for that recognition to be issued, the union must have the support of 50% of the workforce.

“That’s what this ballot is about,” Uddin says. “If half of the votes are in favour of GMB representation, we will gain that right.”

“I am feeling optimistic. I’ve been inside of Amazon holding the voluntary sessions, I’ve been outside on the gate speaking to members and non-members every day.

“The anger is definitely there; the frustration is there. The workers want and need change.”

But Amazon has been union-busting, Uddin says, a claim that the tech giant denies. GMB insist that the company has been rapidly recruiting on temporary contracts to dilute the trade unionist vote. In December 2022, there were 1,440 employees onsite. Now, it’s 3,500 – and workers are regularly offered unpaid voluntary time off.

Company bosses have also erected QR codes in Amazon fulfilment centres which generate an email to the union’s membership department requesting that membership is cancelled, the GMB claims. This messaging continues at mandatory inhouse sessions

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“We’ve run 45 minute sessions, workers attend one of ours. But Amazon is making workers attend minimum, 4-6 sessions filled with anti-union messaging,” Uddin said.

“They’ve got pamphlets, and screens, they say: ‘Why pay for something you already have for free?’ You’ve already got a voice, why pay for it? They’re very, very anti-union.”

In April, GMB filed legal proceedings against Amazon, insisting they were “engaged in widespread attempts to coerce staff to cancel their trade union membership”.

Amazon claim that pay has been increased by 50% since 2018, rising to to £12.30 or £13 an hour depending on location.

“Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have,” a spokesperson said.

“We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities. These are just some of the reasons people want to come and work at Amazon, whether it’s their first job, a seasonal role or an opportunity for them to advance their career.

“We prioritize the safety and wellbeing of our employees and benchmark against the latest national data published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which confirms Amazon has over 50% fewer injuries on average than other transportation and warehousing businesses.”

If the GMB ballot passes, it will only apply to Amazon workers in this particular Coventry fulfilment centre. However, the union believes it would have a ripple impact, spreading across other warehouses.

“It’s not just inside BHX4 (the fulfilment centre being balloted). You’ve got EMA4 (a nearby fulfilment centre), they’ve been striking too. The anger, and the need for change, is spreading across other fulfilment centres as well.

“If we get recognition, it won’t just be a win for Amazon workers. It’ll send a clear message to corporations, and sets a precedent: workers can, and will, organise, to make themselves heard.”

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