British pro-GMB workers narrowly lose Amazon union election

July 17 (UPI) -- British Amazon workers narrowly defeated an effort to join the GMB union, according to election results released Wednesday.

The effort failed in a 50.5%-49.5% vote to reject the unionization bid that would have made GMB the first labor union recognized at Amazon in Britain.

"Our members have come agonizingly close to winning today and GMB will carry on the fight for the pay and recognition they deserve," GMB organizer Amanda Gearing said in a statement. "Amazon bosses have created a culture of fear for low-paid workers trying to improve their pay, terms and conditions."

Amazon said in a statement that it placed enormous value on engaging directly with its workers.

"We look forward to continuing on that path with our team in Coventry," the statement added.

Gearing accused Amazon of using union-busting threats to scare workers into voting against the GMB. She said workers were pressured into going to "six hours of anti-union seminars on top of the fortune spent by Amazon bosses to scare workers."

She said workers were told they would not get pay raises this year and will have to lose even more benefits if they vote for union recognition.

"Amazon's anti-union stance has succeeded in this case, but the underlying antagonisms around work intensity and wages that sparked this dispute are still very much in evidence," University of Essex senior lecturer Callum Gran t told The Guardian .

Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress labor federation, said in a statement, "Union-busting has no place in modern Britain and shows why the government's New Deal for Working People is so important. This is not the end . Our movement will re-group and will continue to shine a light on bad employers."

He added that the new Labor government in Britain will "usher in a new era of stronger workers' rights, companies like Amazon are on the wrong side of history."

According to a GMB legal challenge against the company, Amazon actively engaged in efforts to get workers to cancel union memberships.

The GMB said Amazon put up posters with QR codes that workers could use to send emails to the union requesting membership cancellations.

"It's time for Amazon to answer for its bullying, threats and unlawful one-click-to-quit QR codes. We are proud to be supporting over 900 workers in their inducement claims and we look forward to seeing Amazon in court," Rosa Curling, Director of Foxglove Legal said in a statement.

Amazon told the BBC workers were allegedly telling management they wanted to cancel but couldn't find a way to do it.

"We have always been clear, that union membership is an employee's personal choice," Amazon said.