Amazon, state officials and unions impose information blackout after Bessemer, Alabama worker’s death
A conspiracy of silence surrounds the May 6 death of an Amazon employee at the BHM1 fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, a week after the story broke. The worker, whose name has not been revealed to the public, reportedly died last Thursday after suffering a “personal medical incident.” The worker was reportedly found unconscious in the bathroom of the BHM1 warehouse and before being transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Bloomberg first reported the news and said the worker collapsed at the facility, citing unnamed sources.
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Advent International has tapped its dedicated $2bn tech fund to help data intelligence service provider BigID reach a $1.25bn valuation.
The private equity firm agreed to commit $30m as an extension to the company’s existing $70m Series D round, which saw it hit unicorn status last December.
BigID has now raised $200m over four rounds since September 2019. Existing investors include Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Glynn Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners and Boldstart Ventures.
Ashwin Krishnan, principal at Advent’s technology team in New York, said, “We believe the BigID platform offers a powerful solution to enterprises as they help global organizations manage and extract value from their data while grappling with the dual threats of data privacy and data security.
Why the Attempt to Unionize at a US Amazon Warehouse Failed
Workers in Alabama tried to form the first union at an Amazon facility in the United States, but saw their efforts fail.
The final tally of the vote at the Bessemer warehouse was 1,798 to 738. Another 505 ballots were challenged, but that number is not sufficient to affect the results, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
Workers who opted against joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) said they did not know if the union could improve conditions that are already better than most entry-level jobs in the area and were not sure if their jobs would be safe.