Jennifer Bates facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Bates
Jennifer Bates, testifying before Congress in 2021
Born	1972/1973 (age 52–53)
Occupation	Labor organizer
Employer	Amazon
Known for	Workers' rights activism
Notable work	Union organizing at Amazon

Jennifer Bates (born in 1972 or 1973) is an American labor organizer. She is well-known for helping to organize Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama.

Early Life and Work

Jennifer Bates grew up in Marion, Alabama. She was very active in her church and community. When she was 13, she started working in an okra field. Her first "legal job" was at Hardee's when she was 16.

Over the years, she worked in many different jobs. These included foodservice, retail, and the automotive industry. She also worked as an emergency dispatcher and in office jobs. She even directed a choir and was a motivational speaker.

In 2007, Bates moved back to Alabama. Before that, she had lived in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after marrying a man in the military. In 2010, she started working at a United Steelworkers-backed pipe manufacturing plant. She stayed there for almost ten years.

Fighting for Workers' Rights at Amazon

In May 2020, Jennifer Bates began working at an Amazon warehouse. This warehouse, called BHM1, is in Bessemer, Alabama. Most of the people who work there are Black. Bates worked in "stowing," which means putting items away. She later became a learning ambassador, helping new workers.

Bates felt she was meant to work at Amazon for a special reason. She believed she could not just watch people be treated unfairly. Her past experiences taught her that a union could help workers. She said, "It's about time somebody really spoke out."

Starting the Union Drive

A few months after starting, Bates and her coworker, Darryl Richardson, contacted the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). In November 2020, they announced their plan to form a union. The warehouse had about 5,800 employees. This effort gained national attention. Important political figures supported them. These included Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Representative Stacey Abrams, and President Joe Biden.

Jennifer Bates openly criticized Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. She said he did not care about his employees. She compared the benefits Amazon offered to giving someone "a wheelbarrow and calling it a car." Workers also pointed out that similar jobs with union contracts nearby offered much better pay and benefits. Amazon has said that most employees are happy. They claim to offer some of the best jobs in the areas where they operate. However, the workers said their fight was not just about money. It was about being treated with human dignity.

Testifying in Congress

Jennifer Bates testifying before Congress in 2021

On March 17, 2021, Jennifer Bates spoke to the United States Senate. She testified at a hearing about "The Income and Wealth Inequality Crisis in America." Bates told the senators that she and many coworkers lived "paycheck to paycheck." This showed the growing difference between rich and poor during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

She explained that within three days of starting her Amazon job, she was in physical pain. Her sister, who also worked there, warned her it would get worse. Bates compared the work to exercising for nine hours a day.

Bates also claimed that breaks were not regular. They were decided by computer programs that watched workers every second. Supervisors would then tell workers when to go. She once heard a supervisor tell a worker, "If you don’t go when I asked you to go, you won’t get a break at all." Workers called the BHM1 warehouse a "sweatshop." They made many complaints about the working conditions. She also said that out of many elevators in the large, four-story building, workers were only allowed to use one.

In an interview with Elle magazine, Bates also said that workers who were near coworkers with COVID-19 were not told about the close contact.

Union Vote and Challenges

The first union election results came out on March 29, 2021. Workers voted against forming a union. Out of about 2,500 ballots counted, 738 workers voted for the union. This number was much lower than the over 3,000 workers who had signed cards to authorize a union.

Bates and others, including legal experts, accused Amazon of union busting. This means trying to stop workers from forming a union. The RWDSU successfully challenged the election results. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agreed that Amazon had illegally interfered with the election.

Amazon held required meetings called "Why You Don’t Need Unions." They also had discussions with anti-union workers. The company sent text messages to workers and held unusual one-on-one meetings. They put anti-union signs in bathrooms. Amazon also created a website with the slogan "Do it without dues." Bates said that after she asked about union dues in one meeting, a supervisor tried to scare her. The RWSDU argued that these meetings spread false information. They said the website tried to trick workers into thinking they would have to pay to join the union. Alabama is a state where union dues are not required. Bates said a coworker told her that Amazon said they would close the plant if the union won. Amazon has denied all claims of union busting. However, they did not fight the NLRB's decision to allow a new vote.

Amazon also pushed to have a United States Postal Service mailbox on its property. The company's security watched this mailbox. They covered it with a tent that said, "Speak for yourself, mail your ballot here." The RWDSU argued that workers would think Amazon was watching the election. This would make them afraid to vote for the union. Bates called the mailbox "a stark physical memorial of a tainted election." She also called it "an ominous reminder... of Amazon's surveillance capabilities." Workers asked for the mailbox to be removed in January 2022. This was before the new election vote, which was counted on March 28, 2022.

Critics have said that without financial penalties, Amazon might not act fairly in the second election. Bates believes that the rules for forming unions are unfair to workers. She told The Hill newspaper, "If the [NLRB] doesn't change the laws... the bricks will always be stacked against us." Bates said that one union win would be a "fire starter" for the labor movement at Amazon.

In an essay for Newsweek, Bates highlighted how important workers like her are at BHM1. She argued that Amazon shareholders should vote for Oxfam's idea to put an hourly warehouse worker on the company's board of directors. However, this idea was rejected.

Personal Life

Jennifer Bates has three children and seven grandchildren.

NLRB Campaign Record

See also

• Jaz Brisack
• Liz Fong-Jones
• Cher Scarlett
• Emma Kinema
• Chris Smalls