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Redo the Amazon union election in Alabama, NLRB official recommends

The findings aren’t final, and Amazon plans to appeal.

The results of a historic union election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama should be set aside, a hearing officer from the National Labor Board Relations said in recommendations. The findings address complaints from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union alleging the company misled and threatened workers in violation of federal labor law. The union sought to represent thousands of workers at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, but lost by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 in April.

Both parties have the opportunity to file exceptions to the findings before the regional director makes a decision. The decision can then be appealed to the national labor board, where a panel of commissioners could rule on the case.

The hearing officer said the RWDSU’s objections should be sustained in part and recommended a second election be held. Specifically, Amazon’s move to have the US Postal Service install a generic mailbox outside the Alabama fulfillment center usurped the NLRB’s role in administering the election and interfered with the conditions necessary for a fair election, according to the hearing officer’s report, which the NLRB released Tuesday.

«Notwithstanding the union’s substantial margin of defeat, the employer’s unilateral decision to create, for all intents and purposes, an onsite collection box for NLRB ballots destroyed the laboratory conditions and justifies a second election,» said hearing officer Kerstin Meyers in her recommendations.

Amazon said it plans to appeal.

«Our employees had a chance to be heard during a noisy time when all types of voices were weighing into the national debate and at the end of the day, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of a direct connection with their managers and the company,» an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. «Their voice should be heard above all else and we plan to appeal to ensure that happens.»

«The question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers’ decision and not the employer’s,» said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU. «Amazon’s behavior throughout the election process was despicable.»

The recommendation comes as Amazon faces increasing scrutiny for its treatment of workers. The NLRB has also reportedly considered investigating the company for allegedly firing and disciplining workers who organize protests and walkouts, activities that are protected under federal labor law.

Amazon has also been sued by a group of corporate and logistics employees who allege the company engaged in discrimination and harassment based on race and gender. Warehouse workers have repeatedly sued to get wages for time they were required to wait in lines or spent walking to distant break rooms. So far, Amazon has prevailed in court against federal wage claims.

Working conditions for drivers at subcontracted «delivery service partners» have also raised concerns, including drivers peeing into bottles, struggling to park and facing a discipline system they say doesn’t take their side of the story into account.

The RWDSU complained that Amazon broke federal labor law in the lead-up to the Alabama election, which had the potential to create the e-commerce giant’s first unionized workforce in the US. Lawyers for the union said Amazon unlawfully threatened to lay people off and close the warehouse.

The union took particular issue with the mailbox Amazon had the USPS install on its premises outside the warehouse, saying the company turned it into an ad hoc voting booth with a tent surrounding it on three sides and banners urging workers to vote. Meyers, the NLRB official, said the booth was directly underneath a surveillance camera operated by Amazon. The mailbox was a metal cabinet with several slots rather than a standard blue box with a USPS logo on it. The union argued it gave the impression that Amazon was involved in collecting ballots, which could have affected the vote.

During the hearing over the union’s complaints overseen by Meyers, a worker testified that he’d seen Amazon workers access the mailbox. Amazon countered that it had access only to compartments that contained incoming mail addressed to the company. Additionally, Meyers determined that the worker’s testimony was not credible for numerous reasons, including that he couldn’t have seen anyone accessing the mailbox from where he said he was watching.

Technologies

Apple and Amazon Debut Musical Year-End Recaps While You Wait for Spotify Wrapped

Apple’s Music Replay 2025 and Amazon’s 2025 Delivered examine your listening habits for the year.

Spotify has yet to release its 2025 edition of its popular Wrapped year-in-review feature (last year it debuted on Dec. 4), but Apple Music and Amazon Music are here to fill the void with their own versions of the year-end recap (if you use those services).

Apple Music Replay is now live and puts together a playlist of your most-listened to songs as well as shareable videos and images. You’ll be able to see your top artists, amount of time you listened to Apple Music songs and genres. 


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Similarly, Amazon’s 2025 Delivered feature tracks what you listened to across music, podcasts and audiobooks, but this year Amazon’s theme is a music festival, with some of your listening habits presented as badges. It will also generate a festival poster with artists from your listening history.

Even YouTube is getting into the act with a recap of what you watched in 2025.

How to get to Apple Music Replay and Amazon 2025 Delivered

Both Apple Music Replay and Amazon 2025 Delivered are available in their respective apps.

Apple Music Replay is on the homepage of the Music app and under the «New» tab, but can also be found at replay.music.apple.com

For Amazon’s 2025 Delivered, go to the Library page in the Amazon Music app if Delivered doesn’t appear on the home page. It doesn’t appear to be available in the web version of Amazon Music. 

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Technologies

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond on Switch: This Was Worth Waiting For

Come on in, the space desert’s fine.

Winter’s coming, and Nintendo has delivered an epic Switch game to get lost in for the season. After a week of playing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, I know this is the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s full of alien motorbikes, alien relics, psychic powers and a lot of puzzle-solving.

It’s been a long time since I played a Metroid Prime game. I used to huddle around my GameCube in California, playing the first one. I never got sucked too far into 2D Metroid games, but Prime’s mysterious unfolding caverns and worlds felt like exploring space tombs. It’s always had a bit of a 3D Zelda vibe to me. The Prime games felt more powerful, more immersive than the 2D ones, even Dread. (The original Prime is on Switch too, remastered and worth playing.)

With Prime 4, announced more than eight years ago, it took me some time to get back into it. But now it’s all I think about playing. My recommendation is to just go in for the experience. Go in knowing nothing, and maybe even skip everything in this review, or any other review. Mystery is Metroid’s calling card. Your big adventure on the Switch is here. 

If you’re new, here’s the deal: 3D Metroid is a first-person shooter adventure, but with a lot more emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving than straight-up battle. Once again, you play as Samus, the bounty hunter who quietly explores her world. Enemies and bosses do pop up, and they can be hard, but expect challenges similar to boss battles in a Zelda game. Just like all the other Metroid games, your various powers are lost and must be found again, piece by piece. Besides running and jumping and shooting, you can morph into a ball. Or, this time, hop on a Tron-like space bike called Vi-O-La.

I wasn’t sure if Prime 4 would be for me, or if I’d feel lost in lore I’d forgotten or hadn’t absorbed (since I hadn’t finished Prime 2 or 3, and barely remember what happened in Prime). It’s OK. This game assumes you might be coming in clean, though knowing the Metroid series will help.

Hollywood flair, but not too much

It’s also clear that Nintendo is pushing the Metroid series more into the mainstream. With Nintendo making theme parks and films now, Metroid seems like a future candidate for another franchise spin-off. The game’s stellar opening video sequences feel like being propelled into Star Wars, and yes, the new talking side characters are peppered throughout. Some are annoying, some a bit clichéd, but all seem like they’re possibly auditioning for roles in future entertainment to come.

That annoying guy who seemed to always barge in during early game demos a few weeks ago? He doesn’t bother me too much. Definitely a lot of chat at first, but it settles down later. And, good news: So far, hours into playing, these characters don’t bother you all the time. In fact, in most of the maze-like maps, they’re out of communication range, and you’re on your own. Don’t worry, the lonely Samus vibe is still there.

Just enough feelings of getting truly lost

Samus ends up isolated on a new planet, Viewros, which is full of ancient artifacts from a civilization called the Lamorn that need to be awakened. You don’t know why you’re there, and you don’t know where to go. I mean, there are maps, and suggestions, and sometimes the game pings you a specific map goal. But the game doesn’t hold your hand much. I often wondered what to do next, which isn’t a bad thing at all. There are in-game suggestions and clues, and the design also lends itself to further suggestions. 

A semi-open world

And what I’m still wrapping my head around is the vast desert overworld of Viewros, which exists within a mega map where specific regions to visit are scattered throughout. The desert feels largely empty, but there are mysterious things to find in it, some of which can’t even be accessed at first. Underground shrine-like caves. Pieces of rubble. Odd machines.

Also, the motorbike you uncover and ride — Vi-O-La, aka the Zelda Horse of Metroid Prime 4 — adds a nice bit of open-world feel here. Not a massive one so far, but enough to give the game dimension. It’s not Breath of the Wild, but it is a bit like Ocarina of Time’s handling of space. I love riding that Tron bike around, and I want all the Metroid games to add this type of layer. (Would there ever be a spaceship to fly? Is there one later, in this game? I don’t even know yet.)

It’s great (on Switch 2)

I haven’t played Metroid Prime 4 on the original Switch, but just like Pokemon Legends Z-A, it’s both Switch and Switch 2 playable. The Switch 2 version features a silky-smooth 60 frames per second (or 120fps at a lower resolution) and a fun mouse mode with the Joy-Cons, but I barely used it. I just find standard controls perfectly great as they are.

And, you do a lot of scanning of things in this game, using a Psychic Visor mode that sometimes activates relics, or scans and catalogs creatures, items and artifacts. That left trigger is maybe the most-used button in the game. 

The game plays great both docked and handheld, which is good news because I’ll be traveling with this one for a while. I’m nowhere near finishing (sorry, I’m a slow gamer), but this earns the hype, even if it’s not a total reinvention of the control and play style. Now erase your brain of everything I said and dive in. Better you know nothing at all.

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Technologies

Cyber Monday Might Be Gone, but This Record-Low Price on the Google Pixel 9 Is Still Here

Take hundreds off the Google Pixel 9. But hurry, there’s not much time left to score this after-Cyber Monday deal.

If you’re looking to get your hands on one of the best Android phones out there, Google is the best place to look. The company has been producing stellar phones for some time now. But like all great things, it certainly comes with a pretty big price tag. If you’re not eager to get the latest and greatest model, Cyber Monday had some pretty nice deals you can still grab while they hang around a smidge longer. You can save significantly on previous-generation devices if that works for you.

Right now, you can pick up the previous-gen Google Pixel 9 for just $499. This post-Cyber Monday deal brings the phone to its lowest-ever price with a 38% discount. That’s an exceptional price for one of the best phones you can buy, but that also means it’s unlikely to last for very long. So, if you want to pick this one up, we recommend doing so soon before it sells out. 

The Google Pixel 9 is the sweet spot if you’re looking for a compact phone that doesn’t compromise on camera, performance or display specs. It has a 6.3-inch display, a long-lasting battery and is 5G-ready. This previous-gen flagship’s camera system is the same as the bigger model of its series. It also comes equipped with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The phone is available in multiple colors, but the special price isn’t offered for all of them. For that reason, we suggest checking the price of your preferred color before placing your order. Don’t worry if the Pixel 9 isn’t for you, though. 

Not the phone you wanted? We’re rounding up all the remaining Cyber Monday phone deals so you don’t wind up paying more than you need to.

Why this deal matters

This Pixel 9 isn’t the latest that Google has to offer, but it’s still a great option. The Pixel 9 will continue to receive Android feature and security updates for a long time to come. That means you won’t need to replace your Pixel for years, making this deal an even better value. If you’re an Android fan who likes your phones to be as straightforward as possible, Google’s Pixel phones are a great place to start your search. And now that Cyber Monday is behind us, this deal won’t last much longer. 

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