Amazon Spent $4.3 Million On Anti-Union Consultants Last Year

Faced with a wave of worker activism in its warehouses last year, Amazon paid anti-union consultants roughly $4.3 million in an effort to beat back union organizing campaigns, according to new filings with the U.S. Department of Labor.

The disclosures from Amazon offer a glimpse into how far the online retailer is willing to go to stay union-free. Many employers hire anti-union consultants to hold meetings with workers and dissuade them from unionizing, but none seem to match the scale or price tag of Amazon’s efforts over the course of just one year in its sprawling warehouses.

Workers at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama, fulfillment center were required to attend frequent meetings where they heard anti-union talking points from consultants in the run-up to a union election early last year. Workers ultimately voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, but federal officials ended up ordering a new election after determining Amazon had broken the law.