Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina have voted against unionizing, marking the latest defeat for pro-labor groups that have sought to organize at the e-commerce giant's facilities across the country. 

According to The New York Times, employees at Amazon's RDU1 warehouse just outside of Raleigh voted 2,447 to 829 against a unionization bid led by Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE). CAUSE had pushed for starting wages to increase to $30 an hour from the current $18-24 range, and for longer lunch breaks and more vacation days. 

Shortly after the failed vote, CAUSE accused Amazon of engaging in "relentless and illegal efforts" to intimidate pro-union workers. Since 2022, the company has fired at least three RDU1 employees who were part of the push to unionize, including the movement's founder, Ryan Brown. Brown has claimed that he was retaliated against for his role in organizing his fellow employees, while Amazon has alleged that he was fired for making racist remarks to two managers in a verbal altercation. CAUSE also claims that Amazon gave preferential treatment to employees who did not want to unionize.

Amazon has consistently taken a hard stance against unionization efforts at all of its facilities, and has been accused of illegal union busting on numerous occasions. At the one U.S. facility to successfully organize — Staten Island's JFK8 warehouse — the company has refused to negotiate with or recognize the nascent union, and has spent years attempting to challenge the vote in court. Seven months after a Quebec facility became the company's first in Canada to unionize, Amazon also announced that it would be closing all seven of its facilities in the province. Amazon has denied that the move was in response to the Quebec facility's successful union push, although it's since led to leaders in Canada calling for a review of the country's business dealings with the company.