UPDATE: The NLRB has finished going through challenged ballots in the Bessemer Amazon union election

It is Abrams’ endorsement the union organizers have seized upon. The Rosie-the-Riveter Abrams sign stands at three locations, at least, on the roads around the Amazon plant, including right at its main gates. And in that way, Abrams has become an icon of sorts in the push to unionize the plant.
https://www.courthousenews.com/stacey-abrams-becomes-icon-in-union-drive-at-alabama-amazon-plant/

Breaking from Alabama: We are this much closer to learning the results of the historic union election at Amazon’s Bessemer, AL warehouse. The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) reports that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has received 3,125 ballots. This means that a majority of about 5,800 workers cast votes.

No, the vote count isn’t in yet. The NLRB expects the public portion of the count, viewable to reporters and certain observers via video call, to begin this afternoon. We do not know how long this will take, but it’s safe to assume that the count will span several hours. Each of the over 3,000 ballots will be counted by hand, one at a time.

As previously reported, some voters might have been ineligible to participate, for example, former employees. Per labor law, Amazon is the only party to provide the list of eligible names for an election. The company provided the voter roll to the NLRB, and the union was able to contact people on the list prior to the count.

On Tuesday, in a private count with the NLRB, observers (Amazon and the RWDSU included) were allowed to challenge names on each unopened ballot on the grounds, for example, of eligibility or whether voters’ names match up with the list provided by Amazon. Contested ballots are set aside, and an NLRB regional director can arbitrate each individually after the public count. The NLRB has not shared how many ballots have been contested, but that pool could swing the election, depending on the volume. Observers can further contest each ballot during this process.

https://gizmodo.com/the-majority-of-amazons-bessemer-workers-cast-ballots-1846641668

Link to tweet

They are currently counting Amazon votes at about 7-8 votes per minute which would imply roughly 8 hours of active counting for the whole batch. Counting started about 3:30 pm eastern. Not sure if they will go straight through but results seem likely tomorrow at this rate.

Link to tweet

Amazon up 500-230. Trending worse than 2-1 against the union so far. Through 22% of ballots. No logical reason to expect this trend to reverse given commingled ballots.

Union getting drubbed so far: 699-300. Nearly 1/3 through. A good time to remind people this was always a longshot: It’s Amazon, it’s a huge facility, it’s the South, etc. It’s difficult to convey just how hard it is for a union to win an election like this.