With about 80 per cent of the votes counted, 71 per cent of warehouse workers in Bessemer, Ala. voted against unionizing, according to the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB has not yet declared a winner, though it counted more than 1,608 votes against the union as of late afternoon Friday, the majority of the 3,215 mail-in ballots that workers had cast. (The Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: The results follow Amazon’s biggest battle to date against labour-organizing efforts. Employees at the warehouse have described their work as gruelling and dehumanizing, and those in favour of unionizing were vying for negotiating power over issues like compensation, the pace of work and break times. The Bessemer drive has garnered substantial attention and support from celebrities and politicians, and the company waged an aggressive anti-union campaign to stifle its support. The union seeking to represent workers said it plans to challenge the results, alleging, “Amazon interfered with the rights of its Bessemer, Alabama employees to vote in a free and fair election.”