Union loses bid to organize second New York City Amazon facility
Workers at a sorting facility in Staten Island, New York, rejected a unionization bid by the Amazon Labor Union.
Workers at a sorting facility in Staten Island, New York, rejected a unionization bid by the Amazon Labor Union.
File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
May 2 (UPI) -- An upstart labor union that successfully organized an Amazon.com facility in New York City last month has failed to repeat that win at another nearby workplace, U.S. officials announced Monday.
Workers at the LDJ5 Amazon sorting facility in Staten Island voted against the Amazon Labor Union's proposal 618-380, according to a count conducted by the National Labor Relations Board's Brooklyn office.
The result after a week-long voting period was a setback for the newly established ALU, which on April 1 pulled off a historic win at the much larger JFK8 Staten Island fulfillment center -- the first unionization of an Amazon warehouse in the United States.
The online retailing giant said it is "glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard" in a statement issued to CNN. "We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees."
"The count has finished. The election has concluded without the union being recognized at LDJ5 -- sortation center on Staten Island," the ALU said in a Twitter post. "The organizing will continue at this facility and beyond. The fight has just begun."
The failed bid came despite a push by such notable pro-union lawmakers as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who attended a rally at the facility before the start of voting.
Both took aim at Amazon co-founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, who is fighting to have the results of the JFK8 election overturned.
"I don't know how, when you're worth $170 billion, you are spending money trying to break a union, so that workers can have decent wages, decent working conditions, decent healthcare, decent housing," Sanders said, adding, "How much money does Bezos and the other billionaires need?"
Amazon's case challenging the first vote has been handed off from the NLRB's Brooklyn office to the regional office in Phoenix after the company requested a transfer.
Amazon complained in its challenge that the New York office engaged in unfair behavior during the election, calling into question its "neutral stance."
May 2 (UPI) -- An upstart labor union that successfully organized an Amazon.com facility in New York City last month has failed to repeat that win at another nearby workplace, U.S. officials announced Monday.
Workers at the LDJ5 Amazon sorting facility in Staten Island voted against the Amazon Labor Union's proposal 618-380, according to a count conducted by the National Labor Relations Board's Brooklyn office.
The result after a week-long voting period was a setback for the newly established ALU, which on April 1 pulled off a historic win at the much larger JFK8 Staten Island fulfillment center -- the first unionization of an Amazon warehouse in the United States.
The online retailing giant said it is "glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard" in a statement issued to CNN. "We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees."
"The count has finished. The election has concluded without the union being recognized at LDJ5 -- sortation center on Staten Island," the ALU said in a Twitter post. "The organizing will continue at this facility and beyond. The fight has just begun."
The failed bid came despite a push by such notable pro-union lawmakers as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who attended a rally at the facility before the start of voting.
Both took aim at Amazon co-founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, who is fighting to have the results of the JFK8 election overturned.
"I don't know how, when you're worth $170 billion, you are spending money trying to break a union, so that workers can have decent wages, decent working conditions, decent healthcare, decent housing," Sanders said, adding, "How much money does Bezos and the other billionaires need?"
Amazon's case challenging the first vote has been handed off from the NLRB's Brooklyn office to the regional office in Phoenix after the company requested a transfer.
Amazon complained in its challenge that the New York office engaged in unfair behavior during the election, calling into question its "neutral stance."
2022/5/2
© Agence France-Presse
Workers hoping to unionize a second Amazon facility in Staten Island came up short, according to election results
New York (AFP) - Workers at an Amazon facility in New York have roundly voted against unionization -- dealing a setback to a burgeoning organized labor movement one month after a landmark win at a nearby warehouse.
Sixty-two percent of workers at the Staten Island facility opposed the union push, with 618 employees voting no and 380 in support, according to results released Monday by US officials.
The election at the LDJ5 warehouse followed on the heels of an upset April 1 win by the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) at the much larger JFK8 Staten Island company site -- which established the first American union at the retail colossus.
Last month's win stood as one of the biggest recent victories by US organized labor, winning plaudits from President Joe Biden and other leading unions, some of which visited Staten Island ahead of the second vote.
But the ALU acknowledged its latest setback at Amazon -- the second biggest private employer in the United States after Walmart.
"The count has finished. The election has concluded without the union being recognized," the ALU said on Twitter. "The organizing will continue at this facility and beyond. The fight has just begun."
Backers of the union drive said Amazon was well prepared for the latest vote, and had aggressively campaigned to quash momentum from the earlier victory.
Further complicating their efforts, union leaders were not as well known as at JFK8, where the ALU's president Christian Smalls had previously worked.
Smalls launched the drive after being fired in March 2020 for organizing a protest for personal protective equipment during New York's first major Covid-19 outbreak.
"At the end of the day, this is a marathon not a sprint," Smalls told reporters. "We all know there are going to be wins and losses, we're going to fight another day."
More wins needed
On the other side of the fight, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the company was "glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard."
"We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees."
Since its launch in the 1990s, Amazon has fiercely fought to remain union-free, seeking to maintain its direct line to workers and boosting pay and benefits during the pandemic when "essential workers" in logistics kept the economy going.
Eric Milner, an attorney representing the ALU, called Monday's result "disappointing" but said it reflected the effects of "illegal conduct" on Amazon's part in patterns of disciplining workers and otherwise working to "chill" union activity.
Analyzing the result, Patricia Campos-Medina, co-director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University, said Smalls' experience as an employee gave him "credibility" with workers -- but that he had lacked time to build credibility at the second facility.
She said it will be pivotal for the union to "keep winning" to put pressure on Amazon to negotiate, drawing on backing from the Teamsters and other established unions.
"They already expressed willingness to support ALU, logistically and legally," Campos-Medina said.
"What now needs to happen is actually all these unions who were planning to organize Amazon, they actually now need to do it. It has to be a multifaceted organizing effort of the corporation, it cannot just be one by one."
For now, Amazon is challenging the ALU's April victory, saying representatives of the labor group intimidated workers and that US officials with the National Labor Relations Board were biased against the company.
A hearing on the Amazon complaints is set for May 23 in Phoenix.
The ALU has rejected the Amazon complaints as groundless, arguing the company is using stalling tactics to avoid negotiations on a contract.
New York (AFP) - Workers at an Amazon facility in New York have roundly voted against unionization -- dealing a setback to a burgeoning organized labor movement one month after a landmark win at a nearby warehouse.
Sixty-two percent of workers at the Staten Island facility opposed the union push, with 618 employees voting no and 380 in support, according to results released Monday by US officials.
The election at the LDJ5 warehouse followed on the heels of an upset April 1 win by the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) at the much larger JFK8 Staten Island company site -- which established the first American union at the retail colossus.
Last month's win stood as one of the biggest recent victories by US organized labor, winning plaudits from President Joe Biden and other leading unions, some of which visited Staten Island ahead of the second vote.
But the ALU acknowledged its latest setback at Amazon -- the second biggest private employer in the United States after Walmart.
"The count has finished. The election has concluded without the union being recognized," the ALU said on Twitter. "The organizing will continue at this facility and beyond. The fight has just begun."
Backers of the union drive said Amazon was well prepared for the latest vote, and had aggressively campaigned to quash momentum from the earlier victory.
Further complicating their efforts, union leaders were not as well known as at JFK8, where the ALU's president Christian Smalls had previously worked.
Smalls launched the drive after being fired in March 2020 for organizing a protest for personal protective equipment during New York's first major Covid-19 outbreak.
"At the end of the day, this is a marathon not a sprint," Smalls told reporters. "We all know there are going to be wins and losses, we're going to fight another day."
More wins needed
On the other side of the fight, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the company was "glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard."
"We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees."
Since its launch in the 1990s, Amazon has fiercely fought to remain union-free, seeking to maintain its direct line to workers and boosting pay and benefits during the pandemic when "essential workers" in logistics kept the economy going.
Eric Milner, an attorney representing the ALU, called Monday's result "disappointing" but said it reflected the effects of "illegal conduct" on Amazon's part in patterns of disciplining workers and otherwise working to "chill" union activity.
Analyzing the result, Patricia Campos-Medina, co-director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University, said Smalls' experience as an employee gave him "credibility" with workers -- but that he had lacked time to build credibility at the second facility.
She said it will be pivotal for the union to "keep winning" to put pressure on Amazon to negotiate, drawing on backing from the Teamsters and other established unions.
"They already expressed willingness to support ALU, logistically and legally," Campos-Medina said.
"What now needs to happen is actually all these unions who were planning to organize Amazon, they actually now need to do it. It has to be a multifaceted organizing effort of the corporation, it cannot just be one by one."
For now, Amazon is challenging the ALU's April victory, saying representatives of the labor group intimidated workers and that US officials with the National Labor Relations Board were biased against the company.
A hearing on the Amazon complaints is set for May 23 in Phoenix.
The ALU has rejected the Amazon complaints as groundless, arguing the company is using stalling tactics to avoid negotiations on a contract.
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