March 31 – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) workers at a warehouse on Staten Island in New York City have so far voted 57% in favor of unionizing, with the final balance due Friday, a potential one Milestone for the organized work at the second largest private US employer.
But that victory contrasted with 53% of Amazon workers in Alabama who opposed unionization, in a still inconclusive outcome.
The Alabama contest could depend on 416 contested ballots being decided in the coming weeks, enough to change the outcome, said the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which oversees the election. The situation is very different from last year when workers sided with Amazon by more than 2 to 1 against unionization.
If the final results show that either location voted for a union, it would be a historic first for the retail giant in the United States and a milestone for worker representatives, who have viewed Amazon’s labor practices as a threat to workers for years.
In vigorous campaigns, Amazon has posted notices in toilet stalls warning of unions and held mandatory meetings informing workers that unions could force them to strike. It has raised wages and offered bigger signing bonuses when there is a shortage of workers, appealing to employees worried the organization means constant bickering.
At the same time, trade union movements have gained momentum. Nine US Starbucks stores (SBUX.O) voted to organize and more than 150 others are seeking elections. Read more Amazon workers responded to increased face-to-face outreach by union activists as the pandemic eased, and a second warehouse for the company in Staten Island, LDJ5, will also vote on whether to unionize beginning April 25.
With nearly 2,700 ballots counted from workers at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, about 57% of the votes favored a union, according to a Reuters tally of the NLRB-monitored tally streamed via Zoom. The count resumes at 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT) on Friday.
Christian Smalls, a former Amazon worker who is leading the union effort in New York, said, “Getting to this point is history.” His group is called the Amazon Labor Union.
A union victory in New York “would be a triumph for unconventional organizing campaigns,” said John Logan, a professor of labor law at San Francisco State University. The Smalls group used social media extensively during the campaign and deviated from a typical workbook, he said.
“CONTINUE FIGHTING”
For Bessemer, Alabama, the tally of about 1,900 valid ballots was completed Thursday, but the outcome is far from certain. The NLRB said it would hold a hearing over the next few weeks to determine whether any of the 416 contested ballots should be opened and counted.
Eli Morrison, a 42-year-old Amazon worker who lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said he voted against unionization and was pleased the union was falling behind. He said he appreciates the flexibility Amazon gives him to work extra shifts, an advantage he fears he would lose if workers unionized.
“I come in, bust my ass every day, I get stuff done,” said Morrison, who previously had a union job at a grocery store. “I wouldn’t do that if there was a union. It would be who’s been at it the longest, and who’s been at it the longest doesn’t mean he did the best.”
Jennifer Bates, an early supporter of the union campaign in Alabama, said, “The election is not over until all eligible ballots are counted, and we will keep fighting.”
The working group organizing the effort also plans to object to Amazon’s behavior related to the election, said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
Objections previously filed by RWDSU led to the NLRB finding that Amazon had unduly interfered with the original contest at Bessemer, prompting the board to overturn the results and call for a repeat this year. Continue reading
Amazon did not immediately comment on RWDSU’s appeal plans or Thursday’s vote counts. The company has said it wants its employees’ voices to be heard and is focused on continuing to make Amazon a great place to work.
Regarding communicating with Amazon employees during competitions, the company said it was important for workers to know what a union would mean in their day-to-day work.
A simple majority of the votes cast is required for victory. Neither the New York City Union nor the Department of Labor have specified how many ballots were received in Staten Island.
Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, California, Danielle Kaye in New York and Julia Love in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo and Hilary Russ in New York, Nivedita Balu and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Henderson, Anna Driver and Lisa Shumaker