Amazon mulls options after historic union vote in Staten Island, N.Y.
Workers at Bessemer, Ala., warehouse reject unionization for second time
April 4, 2022
![Amazon_warehouse_worker.jpg Amazon_warehouse_worker.jpg](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt58a1f8f560a1ab0e/blt4b32f9edb894364d/66997d590b59db3fd9538152/Amazon_warehouse_worker.jpg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale)
Amazon is weighing its next steps after workers at a fulfillment center in Staten Island, N.Y., voted to unionize, which would mark the e-tail giant’s first facility to vote for union representation.
As of Friday, the vote at the Staten Island warehouse, dubbed JFK8, stood at 2,654 for forming the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and 2,131 against, according to published reports. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certification of the vote is pending.
Sixty-seven ballots in the April 1 vote are being challenged, reports said, but those ballots are well short of the 523 vote differential to impact the result. Overall, about 8,325 workers were eligible to vote.
“Amazon Labor Union (ALU) has made history by becoming the first to successfully unionize an Amazon facility in the United States and, in doing so, they will inspire Amazon co-workers across the country,” United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW) President Marc Perrone said in a statement. “Even in the face of millions of dollars in illegal, union-busting campaigns and consultants, they have shown it is possible to win by standing up for each other. The entire UFCW family of 1.3 million essential workers is thrilled to have them as a partner in our continued mission to improve the lives of all Amazon workers.”
ALU is being led by former JFK8 manager Christian Smalls, who was dismissed by Amazon in March 2020 for alleged noncompliance with the company’s social distancing guidelines.
Seattle-based Amazon on Friday expressed disappointment with the result at JFK8 but said it may challenge the vote, citing potential influence by the NLRB.
On March 17, an NLRB regional director filed a petition in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York that called on Amazon to rehire an employee who had been fired from the Staten Island warehouse. Yet the employee termination occurred nearly two years ago, while the petition came just two weeks before the union vote. Amazon noted that the National Retail Federation on April 7 sent a letter to congressional leaders requesting an investigation of the NLRB lawsuit, while an earlier blog by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce questioned the timing of the NLRB’s petition in relation to the upcoming vote.