North Carolina voting begins, but Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) is very worried! The southern United States may soon see its first warehouse union.

Employees at a large warehouse of the American tech giant Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) in North Carolina will decide this week whether to form a large warehouse union. If the vote is successful, this will be the second unionized Amazon.com, Inc. large warehouse after the Staten Island warehouse, and also the first union representing Amazon.com, Inc. large warehouse in the southern United States. However, Amazon.com, Inc. executives do not want the first large union in the south, and have previously launched several legal challenges in an attempt to reject the wage proposal initiated by the Staten Island union. It is understood that employees in North Carolina will vote on whether to choose "Carolina Amazon.com, Inc. United Workers Empowered Alliance" (C.A.U.S.E.) to represent them. The vote will begin on Monday and end on Saturday. According to Amazon.com, Inc., this large infrastructure employs over 4,700 employees with a starting wage of $18.50 per hour. C.A.U.S.E. is advocating for higher wages (to $30 per hour), longer rest breaks, improved benefits, and better working conditions. A spokesperson for Amazon.com, Inc. stated, "We have always said that we want our employees' voices to be heard, and we hope and expect that this process will accomplish that. We believe our employees are best served by working directly with our team to hear their unique voices." The global e-commerce and cloud computing giant has repeatedly opposed unionization efforts, and even challenged them through legal means. Warehouse employees of Amazon.com, Inc. went on strike during the December holiday shopping season because the company refused to negotiate wages with unionized employees. Ryan Brown, President of C.A.U.S.E., commented on the voting process in North Carolina, saying, "If we win, we will become the first unionized Amazon.com, Inc. infrastructure/large warehouse in the south. Following historic strikes at Amazon.com, Inc. warehouses across the country during the holiday season, along with the first unionization victory after Amazon.com, Inc. acquired Whole Foods supermarket, we now have momentum." Last month, employees at an Amazon.com, Inc. Whole Foods supermarket in Philadelphia voted to unionize. However, last week, the grocery chain acquired by Amazon.com, Inc. requested the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to overturn the voting result, as two members of the board were fired by the Trump administration, leaving only two members remaining. The personnel changes at the NLRB, and potential large-scale restructuring, are believed to be advantageous for large tech companies like Amazon.com, Inc. and SpaceX founded and led by Elon Musk, as these companies have challenged the constitutionality of the board. It is worth noting that as early as April 1, 2022, employees at the Amazon.com, Inc. JFK8 logistics center in Staten Island, New York, voted to establish a large legitimate union organization, becoming the first successful unionized Amazon.com, Inc. large warehouse in the United States. The union is named Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and is led by former Amazon.com, Inc. employee Christian Smalls. The establishment of ALU marks the first successful organization of a large union by Amazon.com, Inc. employees in the United States, despite strong opposition from Amazon.com, Inc. executives and multiple legal challenges launched by Amazon.com, Inc.