Amazon workers reject union bid in upstate New York

Amazon workers in upstate New York overwhelmingly rejected a union bid on Tuesday, the second loss to labor groups that have tried to drag the company to the negotiating table since their historic victory earlier this year. Brought.

This time, warehouse workers near Albany voted against the Amazon union with 406 votes (about 66%), giving the company enough support to push back a fledgling group of former and current Amazon workers. gave to

According to the National Labor Relations Commission, which oversees the election, 206 workers (33.6%) voted in favor of joining the union. The agency said 949 employees were eligible to vote, and the 31 votes contested by either Amazon or the union weren’t enough to sway the outcome.

According to Unionstats.com, the facility is located in the town of Shodak, near one of the most organized metropolitan areas in the country. This is what we call a no-sort center, a warehouse where employees pack bulky items like rugs, patio furniture, and outdoor gear.

Experts said a win there would increase the union’s clout in contract negotiations with Amazon and give it an opportunity to demonstrate its previous wins at its Staten Island, New York, facility. Those hopes seem dashed.

“We are delighted that our team in Albany was able to hear their voices and that they have chosen to maintain a direct relationship with Amazon,” said a statement. will continue to work directly with our teammates in Albany, as we do everywhere, to make Amazon better every day.”

Chris Smalls Fired Amazon Workers Lead ALU To First-Ever US Amazon Warehouse Victoryhis group is proud of workers who have challenged Amazon’s “vicious anti-union campaign” and suggested they may try to reunify the facility.

Using the warehouse’s official name, Smalls said, “This is not the end of ALB1’s ALU.” The process was not free and fair,” he said, accusing the company of “thumbs up on the scale.”

“It was a phony election where workers were routinely threatened and retaliated against, and even workers who volunteered as election monitors were threatened with dismissal,” Smalls said.

Over the past week, organizers said Amazon threatened to take unpaid leave from workers who volunteered to become election observers. The facility’s main organizer, Heather Goodall, accused the company of calling the police on her several times when she was seeking assistance near the facility while on vacation. , the company said it only did so when it had non-employees.

During the campaign, unions filed more than 20 indictments with the NLRB, accusing them of undermining the company’s ability to organize with unfair labor practices. Still, Smalls said he would continue his campaign to unionize Amazon’s warehouses.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t hit,” he said.

This was the fourth union election at an Amazon warehouse this year and the third election led by the ALU. Following an unexpected victory at Staten Island in April, The group suffered losses at another smaller facility nearby shortly thereafter.The union elections in Alabama, led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, are still on the horizon.

Goodall launched an organizing drive near Albany in the spring just months after joining the company to assess working conditions. Shortly thereafter, she approached the ALU after gaining support from workers who wanted to unionize.

In response, Amazon held meetings to force employees to reject the union, but the NLRB’s top prosecutor is now trying to outlaw such meetings. The company also hangs flyers and other documents around the facility urging workers to vote against it.

The election outside of Albany was the first time the union was tested outside of Staten Island. A large percentage of part-time workers who may have other sources of income and fewer connections with their colleagues before the group’s first loss made it more difficult to organize a second Staten Island facility. Many believed that the unions did not have much time to persuade the workers. Smalls and other organizers were also preoccupied with media appearances and defending historic victories.

Amazon is attempting to undo the ALU’s lone victory, filing more than 20 challenges to the election and calling for a re-vote. Last month, federal labor officials concluded that unions should be certified as bargaining representatives for warehouses. Amazon, which does not recognize the union, said it plans to appeal the decision, and CEO Andy Jassy has also suggested that the company could file a lawsuit in federal court.

ALU organizers say they are putting pressure on Amazon to negotiate contracts with union-voting facilities and to petition for more elections. Last week, Amazon workers at another facility in California filed their own union elections to join the ALU.