Workers at an Amazon facility in New York are looking to unionize after a historic union vote at a warehouse in Alabama was defeated.
Workers hoping to establish the Amazon Labor Union announced a unionization drive for a Staten Island facility on Monday, the same day that the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union filed election objections against the retail giant contesting its resounding defeat. The ALU is working with the Congress of Essential Workers, a labor activist group founded by a former Amazon employee, Business Insider reported.
“It’s time. We’re picking a fight with Amazon in Staten Island. Workers have had enough of the company’s abusive and exploitative behavior,” the ALU said on Twitter. “We need all the support and solidarity we can get. Stand by for more info!”
The news of Staten Island’s organization push follows Amazon beating the RWDSU in Bessemer 1,798 votes to only 738 votes. Just over 3,000 of the workers voted at all in the election despite there being nearly 6,000 employees eligible to do so.
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The Staten Island facility, referred to as “JFK8,” has over 5,000 workers. Warehouse worker Derrick Palmer told Truthout that while the RWDSU lost in Alabama, the monthslong unionization effort inspired and paved the way for the formation of their own union. He predicted that the vote created a “domino effect” at Amazon facilities across the country.
“We all wanted the union push to be successful in Alabama, especially with the odds being totally against them, being that Alabama is a nonunion state. But the fact that they had the opportunity to vote as a facility was historic,” Palmer said. “We have to take the bruises and pick it up where they left off. If anything, it started a movement.”
Employees are working with the Congress of Essential Workers to form a completely organic union separate from the RWDSU and other allied unions, which Palmer noted have contacted the workers about the matter.
Chris Smalls, who founded the Congress of Essential Workers after being fired from JFK8 for leading a walkout in protest of Amazon’s COVID-19 working conditions, stressed that after the Bessemer loss, workers at the facility wanted “go the independent route which is worker-led.”
“That will build more confidence for workers that want to join because they’ll be like, ‘Hey, look, this is something that is employee-driven. This is not a third party coming in. This is you guys creating your own union with your own set of rules and negotiations.’ I think that’s more appealing to the worker,” Smalls said.
Organizers with the Congress of Essential Workers have reportedly contacted the National Labor Relations Board to make sure they are taking the correct steps in establishing the ALU. While Amazon has a companywide $15 minimum wage (compared to New York City’s $11 minimum wage), workers in Staten Island are hoping to unionize to address not just pay but other issues.
“First and foremost, the goal of the A.L.U. is to unionize amazon,” the ALU said on its website. “In doing so, the workers secure their federally protected right to collectively bargain with Amazon and negotiate the terms of their pay, benefits, and working conditions. The union will be a protection from Amazon’s exploitative business practices and wrongful terminations.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the ALU on Tuesday for further details about timetables and how many workers have expressed interest in organizing but has not yet received a response. The Washington Examiner also reached out to Amazon for comment about the ALU and union push in Staten Island.
The vote in Bessemer gained enormous attention from lawmakers and celebrities who championed the cause of the workers, which could potentially foreshadow media attention in New York should the union drive start to gain traction. Working conditions at the Bessemer facility were a major target of union organizers there.
During the voting process, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont called Bessemer employee Jennifer Bates to testify before the Senate Budget Committee about what it is like to work in the warehouse. She said the company seems “to think you are another machine.”
“Amazon brags it pays workers above the minimum wage. What they don’t tell you is what those jobs are really like,” Bates told lawmakers. “And they certainly don’t tell you that they can afford to do much better for the workers. Working at Amazon [warehouses] is no easy thing. The shifts are long. The pace is superfast. You’re constantly being watched and monitored.”
While Amazon had been worried about the Bessemer facility unionizing, outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos sent a letter to shareholders last week after winning the vote that defended working conditions at Amazon facilities but also acknowledged that steps need to be taken to improve relations with his employees.
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“Does your Chair take comfort in the outcome of the recent union vote in Bessemer? No, he doesn’t,” Bezos said. “I think we need to do a better job for our employees. While the voting results were lopsided and our direct relationship with employees is strong, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for how we create value for employees — a vision for their success.”
