An administrative law judge has ordered a third union election at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bessemer.

Judge Michael Silverstein ordered the election in an 87-page ruling filed Tuesday. Silverstein said the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU) had proved six separate unfair labor practices in a 2022 union election that took place there.

As a result, the results of that election have been set aside.

The action is the latest chapter in a labor fight going back three years. The drive to unionize in Bessemer was the first in a series of union-related campaigns that have taken place since in Alabama, a right-to-work state in the Deep South with a history of labor activity.

The ruling does not lay out a timetable for when the election will take place.

Workers voted down the union in 2021 in a mail-in election over several weeks, but the result was voided by the NLRB after it found Amazon interfered in the election process. That came after a contentious campaign during COVID restrictions, which drew celebrities, politicians and even the attention of the Biden Administration.

Here is full coverage of the Alabama Amazon unionization effort

Ballots in the second election were tallied on March 31, 2022.

The initial results showed 875 votes for RWDSU representation, 993 votes against, and 416 challenged ballots.

Of those, 311 challenged ballots remain outstanding, and both the union and Amazon filed objections to the vote.

Witness testimony in the case took place over the summer.

In his ruling, Silverstein said Amazon’s “unlawful confiscation” of union materials from breakrooms and restrooms entered into the decision, along with other factors.

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said the ruling was handed down “before even determining the final results of the rerun election.”

“We never doubted that Amazon was going to take every opportunity, legal or not, to deny its employees at its Bessemer warehouse a free and fair election,” Appelbaum said. “These were the first Amazon warehouse workers anywhere in the nation who filed for union representation.

“Amazon has been found yet again to have violated basic labor laws.”

Still, Appelbaum said Silverstein did not provide any significant “remedies which we requested and would be required for a free and fair election.” He telegraphed the union will be filing for further action.

“There is no reason to expect a different result in a third election – unless there are additional remedies,” he said. “Otherwise, Amazon will continue repeating its past behavior and the Board will continue ordering new elections.

“There are two things clear in this decision; Amazon broke the law yet again, and labor law is stunningly broken in this country.”

Attempts to reach Amazon for comment were not immediately successful.

This post will be updated.