NEW YORK, April 1 – Workers at an Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) warehouse in New York City voted to form the first labor union at the US’s second largest private employer, a victory that adds to recent successes joining the grassroots union activists are pushing into new industries.
Employees at the online retailer’s Staten Island County fulfillment center, known as JFK8, secured the majority by voting for Amazon Labor Union (ALU) by a vote of 2,654 to 2,131, or about 55%, according to an Aug census released Friday by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The vote was a victory for organized labor in the US and a milestone for labor movement advocates, who for years have viewed Amazon’s labor practices as a threat to workers. Union organizer Christian Smalls, dressed all in Amazonian union red, raised his hand in victory after the win while ALU members popped champagne in celebration.
“We are disappointed with the outcome of the Staten Island election because we believe a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees,” Amazon said in a statement.
The company added that it was evaluating options, including filing objections based on what it called improper and improper influence by the NLRB. A spokesman for the NLRB noted that it is an independent federal agency and said its actions are consistent with its congressional mandate.
Amazon’s shares closed at $3,271.20, up less than 1% on the day.
Assuming the vote clears all objections and the union is certified by the NLRB as a workers’ representative, union negotiators would still have to negotiate with Amazon to meet expectations for better pay and working conditions.
Geebah Sando, a package sorter who voted for the union after working at JFK8 for more than two years, said he was thrilled.
“With the union we are united,” Sando said, adding that the workers’ group could help workers lobby for better wages, breaks and vacation time.
Many doubted Smalls when he announced plans to unionize JFK8 last year, but he set up a tent outside the warehouse while supporters inside touted how a union could demand higher wages, safer conditions and job security. Continue reading
Amazon was founded in 1994 by billionaire Jeff Bezos as a small virtual bookstore. The company said it had just under a million U.S. employees as of mid-2021, and it now has a market cap of about $1.7 trillion.
Walmart Inc (WMT.N), the #1 private employer in the US, has nearly 1.6 million US employees and is non-union.
Dan Cornfield, labor expert and professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, called the vote a “significant victory for workers organizing in a local union.” Cornfield said he expects the win will accelerate what is already rapidly growing union activism across the US retail sector.
“It’s almost like a David and Goliath victory,” Cornfield said. “There is already a wave (of activism) and this will encourage more of it.”
“A FREE AND FAIR CHOICE”
US President Joe Biden is glad the voices of Amazon workers are being heard, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Psaki added that Biden believes that “every worker in every state should have a free and fair choice to join a union,” and that Amazon workers on Staten Island “have chosen to form a grassroots union to… negotiate better jobs and better lives. “
Other recent labor campaigns are picking up steam. Nine US Starbucks stores (SBUX.O) voted to organize and more than 150 others are seeking elections. Continue reading
In contrast, at an Amazon plant in Alabama, a majority of workers opposed union formation, although the outcome was not final.
The Alabama contest could depend on 416 contested ballots being decided in the coming weeks, enough to change the outcome, the NLRB said. The situation is very different from last year when workers sided with Amazon by more than 2 to 1 against unionization.
As the pandemic subsided, Amazon workers responded to more face-to-face outreach by union activists. A second warehouse owned by the company in Staten Island, LDJ5, will also vote on whether to unionize starting April 25.
The number of employees eligible to participate in the Staten Island vote was 8,325, the NLRB said.
Additional reporting by Danielle Kaye and Jeffrey Dastin; Writing from Anna Driver; Edited by Nick Zieminski and Will Dunham