Bessemer, Alabama, a town of 27,000, lies 15 miles southwest of Birmingham. Once a steel town and the site of a Pullman Standard railcar factory, the town is now marketing itself as a logistics hub, attracting retailers including Amazon, Carvana, Lowe’s, and Dollar General.
NAME: Ginny Cavett
COMPANY: Carvana
TITLE: General manager
Carvana, an online used car retailer, announced in November 2019 it would build a $40 million distribution center in Bessemer, bringing 450 new jobs to the area.
NAME: Tray Ragland
COMPANY: AlaTrade Foods; Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU)
TITLE: Safety/debone worker; shop steward
The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) sought to represent Amazon workers in Bessemer during its union drive this spring.
NAME: Tony Feagins
COMPANY: The Bright Star restaurant
TITLE: Chef
The family-owned Bright Star restaurant has been operating in Bessemer since 1907.
NAME: Laerte Zatta
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Director of manufacturing engineering
Blox, a design and construction firm that makes modular buildings, mostly for hospitals, is situated on the old Pullman railcar factory site.
NAME: Michael Pulmas
COMPANY: Milo’s Tea
TITLE: Corrugate Operator
Milo’s Tea began selling its tea to Birmingham grocery stores in the 1980s; it moved to Bessemer, where it’s now headquartered, in 2002.
NAME: Kimberly Allen
COMPANY: Carvana
TITLE: Reconditioning manager
A national spotlight has been on Bessemer since the beginning of the Amazon union effort, but Kim Allen, a reconditioning manager at Carvana, says that coverage has missed the people that make up the area. “This area is really diverse with culture. It’s a melting pot, honestly,” she says. “People here are super excited about the job opportunities that are coming.”
NAME: Robert Moore
COMPANY: C.S. Beatty
TITLE: General contractor and senior project superintendent
C.S. Beatty, a Birmingham, Alabama-based construction company, is involved in a Bessemer project led by Chicago-based developer Clayco. “What you’re seeing with Carvana, with the Lowe’s distribution, with these warehouses, they’re good jobs… and they’re not leaving,” says Robert Moore, a general contractor and senior project superintendent. “It gives people an opportunity to grow and grow the business, no matter their labor abilities, no matter their craft ability, or no matter their educational ability.”
Chicago-based developer Clayco purchased 96 acres of land in Bessemer last year, and is currently building a 1.2 million square-foot facility for Lowe’s.
NAME: Melanie McNary
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Director of human resources
Melanie McNary, HR director at Blox, says her company isn’t just interested in growing itself, but the entire community. “We are definitely working towards pulling in other companies that are in the city to partner with us on the vision that we have and helping Bessemer revitalize.”
NAME: Willie Bray
COMPANY: Mayfield Dairy; RWDSU
TITLE: Filler operator; shop steward
NAME: Brett Collins
COMPANY: The Bright Star restaurant
TITLE: General manager
The Bright Star claims to be the oldest family-owned restaurant in America, operating since 1907. In 2010 it was named one of “America’s Classics” by the James Beard Foundation.
NAME: Paul Winfrey
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Production employee
NAME: Carol McNair
COMPANY: Wayne Farms; RWDSU
TITLE: Poultry plant worker; shop steward
NAME: Kimani (KT) Sanders
COMPANY: Carvana
TITLE: Logistics manager
"Most people here are just like everyone else,” says Kimani Sanders, logistics manager at Carvana. “Everybody wants the same thing, everybody wants to be able to take care of their family, provide a good life. I think that's universal.”
NAME: Samuel Harris
COMPANY: Carvana
TITLE: Driver lead
“Bessemer is on the brink of being a little Birmingham, in my eyes, because I know what it used to be like, and it ain't used to be like it is now,” says Samuel Harris, who was born and raised in Bessemer. “With Carvana coming into the city, it’s opening a lot more opportunities for everybody when it comes to the job scene.”
NAME: Hannah Kitchens
COMPANY: Milo’s Tea
TITLE: Forklift operator
NAME: John Harper
COMPANY: Clayco
TITLE: Senior project superintendent
After years of work and business opportunities dropping off, things are gradually picking back up in Bessemer, says John Harper, senior project superintendent at ClayCo. “In years to come it’s gonna get nothing but better.”
NAME: Joe Johnson
COMPANY: Associated Grocers; Local 261 RWDSU
TITLE: Truck driver; shop steward and president
NAME: Ann McAdams
COMPANY: Milo’s Tea
TITLE: Filler operator
NAME: Meghan Campbell
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Architect
A sign for the RWDSU Union drive on Powder Plant Rd., outside of the Amazon fulfillment center. A union drive brought national attention to the facility, and Bessemer in general. Though the union effort was defeated, RWDSU has filed objections, saying Amazon interfered.
NAME: Jennifer Bates
COMPANY: Amazon
TITLE: Blue Badge Learning Ambassador
Amazon worker and union organizer Jennifer Bates says she was excited about the Amazon opportunity when she was first hired, but then issues arose. She testified before Congress about the “grueling” conditions. “Some people say, ‘Why not quit?’ I thought, ‘Why should I?’ Why should I continue to run and leave an open sore?”
“In Bessemer, there are tons of manufacturing buildings, and the thing that gets me is to have so many industrial manufacturers, the working community is still poor,” Bates says. “That part I can’t understand.”
NAME: Darryl Richardson
COMPANY: Amazon
TITLE: Picker
NAME: Ashley Rhodes
COMPANY: The Bright Star restaurant
TITLE: Server
NAME: Marlon Tanksley
COMPANY: The Bright Star restaurant
TITLE: Server
NAME: Jeffrey Brent
COMPANY: Milo’s Tea
TITLE: Filler lead operator
Before the boom of big companies coming into Bessemer, Kimani Sanders says “it was a void,” with many traveling outside the area to get to work. Now, an influx of companies is providing opportunity. “It’s an opportunity for not just Bessemer but the surrounding areas, too."
NAME: Carl Simpson
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Station lead
NAME: Justin Larkin
COMPANY: Carvana
TITLE: Inventory associate
“Considering the fact that Bessemer was kind of dependent on one industry, it goes to show that as time is passing by, things can change,” says Justin Larkin, an inventory associate at Carvana. “Now that you have all these businesses coming in, you see that Bessmer is not relying on just one industry. Businesses are actually moving here and see potential for what Bessmer can hold in the future.”
NAME: Mark Mattox
COMPANY: Milo’s Tea
TITLE: Production supervisor
NAME: LC Albritton
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Drywall finisher
Modular building manufacturer Blox operates out of the old Pullman Standard Railcar factory. Besides providing jobs, Blox has “a vision for creating community spaces that are safe and clean and inviting for people to come out,” says Melanie McNary, director of HR Admin & Benefits at Blox. Blox CFO Brian Giattina is renovating a train depot through his nonprofit into a community garden and art and music lesson space.
Michael Pulmas, corrugate operator, Milo’s Tea
NAMES: Ahinoam Israel; David Israel
COMPANY: Good Health To Be Hail, wellness center and vegan café
TITLE: Owner; Manager-Chef
NAME: Antonio Gutierrez
COMPANY: Blox
TITLE: Production line manager
NAME: Michael “Big Mike” Foster
COMPANY: RWDSU
TITLE: Worker organizer
NAME: Jasmine Adams
COMPANY: Carvana
TITLE: Operations coordinator
NAME: Tom Underhill
COMPANY: C.S. Beatty Construction
TITLE: Subcontractor, senior superintendent
“Even though this [union drive] didn’t pull through in Bessemer, I see that people have finally allowed their hope to cause them to stand up and [say], ‘We do deserve better,’ says Jennifer Bates, an Amazon worker and union organizer. “We have opened the door and given them a pathway to make it happen where they are.”