[1][2][3] Her career expanded into foodservice, retail, the automotive industry, emergency dispatch, office work, choir direction, and motivational speaking.

[2] Bates joined Amazon in the fulfillment center (BHM1) in Bessemer, which has a population that is predominantly Black,[2] in May 2020 working in stowing, eventually becoming a learning ambassador.

The union drive earned national media attention, and the support of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Representative Stacey Abrams, and President Joe Biden.

"[1] Bates also alleged that in order to take a break, workers are subjected to a security check that involves some measure of undressing, which Amazon has stated is not company policy.

[5][13] 738 workers voted in support of a union, out of the roughly 2,500 ballots counted, a number staggeringly lower than the petitioned authorization cards reported to be over 3,000.

[3][5] Amazon had pushed to have a United States Postal Service mailbox on the premises, which was monitored by the company's security, and covered the box in a tent with the slogan, "Speak for yourself, mail your ballot here," which RWDSU had argued any reasonable worker would be led to believe the election was being monitored or even run by the tech giant, discouraging voting in support of the union.

Bates referred to the mailbox as "stark physical memorial of a tainted election," and "an ominous reminder for all of us of Amazon's surveillance capabilities."

Bates feels the power dynamics in labor organizing are biased against workers, telling The Hill, "If the [NLRB] doesn't change the laws and put a harsher punishment on employers or CEOs of these companies, the bricks will always be stacked against us.