What a Unionization Effort in Alabama Could Mean for the Labor Movement

The fight over whether or not to unionize at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, is heating up, as the vote count of its nearly 6,000 workers got underway on Tuesday. Though it’s unclear when we’ll see the results of the vote, the historic union drive is expected to be a watershed moment for the labor movement in the U.S., and especially in the American South.  

Keri Leigh Merritt, historian, writer, and author of "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South," joined The Takeaway to discuss the history of the organized labor movement and the impact that the organizing efforts in Alabama could have on workers nationwide. 

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