Amazon Aims to Blunt Union Drive at Alabama Warehouse (1)

Amazon Inc. sought to kill the momentum of a closely watched union drive at an Alabama warehouse, launching an elaborate legal defense aimed at forcing union organizers to win over hundreds more employees than they anticipated.

In an initial hearing before the National Labor Relations Board Friday, Amazon attorneys argued that the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union severely limited the types of fulfillment center employees in its proposed union. In doing so, they touched off a protracted battle that could delay an election for weeks and damage labor organizers’ chances of victory.

An NLRB adjudicator rejected the union’s request ...