Amazon union organizers claim victory; Staten Island warehouse first in U.S. to unionize

UPDATE: AMAZON UNIONIZATION ON STATEN ISLAND IS WON BY 500 VOTES >>

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A group of Staten Island Amazon workers claimed victory Friday as the nation’s first employees for the international conglomerate to unionize.

Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizer Jason Anthony addressed the media at Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center shortly after the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) finished its vote tally, but said around 11 a.m. the union had won in a “landslide.”

“This is a victory for the worker movement,” he said around 11:30 a.m.

At the time, the union led by almost 500 votes, which will be a hard difference to make up with few votes left to count.

As of 12:30 p.m. on Friday there were 2,654 “yes” votes and 2,131 “no” votes. No official count has been released yet by the NLRB.

The company did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Sochie Nnaemeka, director of the New York Working Families Party, congratulated the workers on their victory.

“Corporations are reaping record profits while families struggle just to make ends meet,” Nnaemeka said. “It’s no wonder that workers are rising up and demanding an economy that works for all of us, not just the very wealthy.”

Workers at JFK8 Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bloomfield had their first chance to vote on whether they’d like to join the independent union staring March 25.

ALU President Christian Smalls, who the company fired in March 2020 at the height of the pandemic after he staged a walkout protest over JFK8′s poor health conditions, said in mid-March that he felt good about the union’s efforts.

Supporters, including several local and citywide politicians, joined the union outside the Gulf Avenue facility for a rally last month in the lead-up to the vote.

Amazon has long been a target of criticism and sometimes legal action in the U.S. for its anti-unionization efforts. Despite similar employees having unions in Europe, no U.S. facility has been able to organize.

ALABAMA UNION VOTE

Amazon appeared to beat back a second union challenge at an Alabama fulfillment center, as workers once again voted against being represented by the Retail Workers and Department Store Union (RDSU). However, the number of contested votes could still put the count in the workers’ favor.

ALU organizer Brett Daniels said the union’s independence from larger establishment unions helped them better organize workers at the Bloomfield warehouse. Though independent, ALU has long had the support of more established unions.

“It shows that it can be done without affiliating with a nationally-recognized union,” Daniels said. “Community power, community-led movements is where it’s at. It can be done without being affiliated with an established union.”

NLRB LAWSUIT

Locally, NLRB filed a federal suit last month against Amazon over another worker, Gerald Bryson, who the company fired after he participated in the same protests that saw Smalls lose his job.

NLRB Regional Director Kathy Drew-King, who oversees the region that includes the Staten Island complex, brought the suit, and alleged that the company unfairly fired Bryson for exercising his rights as an employee.

“No matter how large the employer, it is important for workers to know their rights — particularly during a union election — and that the NLRB will vociferously defend them,” Drew-King said in a statement.

If the suit is successful, Amazon would have to offer Bryson his job back, and the company would need to hold a mandatory meeting at JFK8, where it will read a notice of employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.