Amazon.com Inc. always had the upper hand in its high-profile battle with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union over its fulfillment center in Bessemer, Ala.

It had the deeper pockets, of course, and with mandatory workplace “information sessions,” could slyly proselytize on the shop floor against the union and the financial burdens of membership.

Beyond that, Amazon also enjoyed a stark economic calculus. Three years ago, the Bessemer region wooed Amazon with an incentive package worth an estimated $51 million, one of the largest financial enticements the company has ever received to open a warehouse.

At around the same time, the nearby city of Birmingham constructed three giant faux-Amazon cardboard boxes around town, part of an unsuccessful promotional stunt to try to lure Amazon's second headquarters to the city. Like a lot of other states, Alabama wanted Amazon and its jobs in a time of widespread economic anxiety.

Employees seemed to get that voting for a union and thumbing their collective noses at Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos would have interfered with that objective. Out of more than 3,000 ballots cast by mail, 1,798 rejected the union last week.

The RWDSU plans to appeal the vote and has alleged that Amazon coerced workers into voting “no” through a variety of illegal means, such as forcing the post office to put a mailbox outside the facility to collect votes — a suspected intimidation tactic.For its part, Amazon seemed interested in putting the saga behind it and moving on.But before it comfortably retires with its victory, Amazon likely will stop to carefully consider the Bessemer saga.Though it won decisively, the battle was unusually bruising, and the public is likely to remember the entire ordeal mainly for Amazon's ham-fisted responses to criticism from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the accusation that the company's drivers often have to relieve themselves in bottles while on the road.To avoid running headlong into the next battle in an escalating war with a resurgent organized labor movement that is backed by the U.S. president, Amazon probably needs to act on a few important lessons.

The first is to listen more carefully to employees.Amazon, of course, would publicly vow that already it does so, religiously; but it didn't instill much faith when it denied that its drivers were forced to use bottles along their routes, then apologized for the tweet a few days later and acknowledged it was a problem.During the union fight, Amazon employees told other harrowing stories; about being ordered into mandatory overtime without much forewarning or explanation; long walks to the breakroom or bathroom that eat into their two, half-hour breaks in a 10-hour shift; and the physical toll that comes from standing on their feet for a whole workday.Bessemer employees who voted against the union say they plan to ensure the company listens to these complaints.“We already have a seat at the table, and we are talking to senior management about things we want to change,” said Will Stokes, an Amazon worker that the company made available in a Zoom press conference on Friday after the vote counting was completed. “Give us the next 100 days and let's see what happens.”