Amazon and Sindicato Face Off in New York Rematch Election – NBC4 New York

Amazon and the group that successfully organized the company’s first US union are headed for a rematch on Monday, when a federal labor board will count the votes cast by warehouse workers in another election on Staten Island.

A second labor victory could give workers at other Amazon facilities, and at other companies, the motivation they need to undertake similar efforts. It could also cement the power and influence of the Amazon Workers Union, the grassroots group of former and current workers that secured last month’s historic victory.

But a union loss could silence some of the labor celebration and raise questions about whether the first victory was just a fluke.

Election results are expected to be announced Monday night by the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process. Meanwhile, the agency has yet to decide whether to certify the first win, which has been disputed by Amazon.

There are far fewer workers eligible to vote in this latest election compared to last month: about 1,500 compared to 8,300 at the neighboring Staten Island facility. There are also fewer organizers: about 10 compared to about 30.

“It’s a much more personal and aggressive fight here,” said Connor Spence, an Amazon employee who works as the union’s vice president of membership.

Spence said there was more support for organizing efforts earlier this year when the ALU ran for election. But that was quickly overshadowed by the larger facility across the street, where organizers were directing more energy.

Meanwhile, Amazon continued to hold mandatory meetings to persuade its workers to reject the union effort, posting anti-union fliers and launching a website urging workers to “vote NO.”

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement that it’s up to employees whether or not they want to join a union. But “as a company, we don’t believe that unions are the best answer for our employees,” Nantel said. “Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”

Pundits say the low number of organizers puts the low number of organizers at a disadvantage, but that might not be a problem as ALU’s legitimacy has been bolstered by last month’s upset victory. He has also garnered the support of top union leaders and high-profile progressive legislators. At a rally outside the warehouse a day before voting began last week, US Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke in support of the organizers spearheading the union campaign.

“This is certainly about ALU, but it’s also about the broader desire to organize right now,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, who also attended the rally. “And we have to run as fast as we can in this environment to organize millions of people if we are going to change the power structure in this country and really give workers a fair chance.”

After their first victory in Staten Island, ALU organizers refocused their attention on the smaller warehouse and reiterated their vision to workers: longer breaks, better job protections, and a higher hourly wage of $30, above the minimum. for just over $18 currently being offered in Staten Island.

Spence said they also tailored their presentation to part-time workers, who the facility relies heavily on and who have been awaiting their applications to transfer to a full-time job at the company. When the votes were cast, he believed the union had regained its momentum.

“We had to get it back,” he said.

Even with a win under their belt, progress has been slow for the ALU. Last month, Amazon raised objections to the successful union campaign, arguing in a filing with the NLRB that the vote was tainted by organizers and by the board’s Brooklyn regional office that oversaw the election. The company says it wants to redo the election, but union experts believe it’s an effort to delay contract negotiations and potentially blunt some of the organizing momentum.

Despite setbacks, the ALU has made progress in other ways, highlighting Amazon’s anti-union tactics and highlighting concerns about its workplace conditions. That, in turn, has encouraged others to take action.

On Tuesday, Sanders sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to sign an executive order cutting Amazon’s contracts with the government until the retailer stops what Sanders calls its “illegal union-busting activity.” Organizers believe such a move would fulfill the president’s campaign promise to “ensure that federal contracts only go to employers who sign neutrality agreements pledging not to conduct anti-union campaigns.”

In New York, two state lawmakers have introduced a bill to regulate warehouse productivity quotas, with the goal of reducing workplace injuries at facilities operated by Amazon and other companies. The bill’s sponsors said they were motivated by ALU’s impending contract negotiations with the company, which has been criticized for its high injury rates in warehouses.

Separately, the ALU, along with the American Federation of Teachers and the United Teachers of New York State, is asking New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate Amazon’s classification for tax credits under a state program designed to attract businesses to New York. In a letter to James, Seth Goldstein, a union attorney who provides free legal help to the ALU, contends that Amazon has engaged in “blatant and unfair labor practices” during union campaigns that violated the program’s worker protection provisions. An Amazon spokesman declined to comment.

Back on Staten Island, some warehouse workers voted against unionizing, saying they already feel taken care of by the company and would rather wait and see how contract negotiations go at the other facility before joining the union effort. There are also doubts that the ALU can achieve what it sets out to do.

Alexander Campbell, a 25-year-old warehouse worker, voted against the union, saying he read some things online that convinced him his pay could go down if the warehouse unionized.

But others are lending their support. Michael Aguilar, a part-time warehouse worker turned ALU organizer, said he applied to Amazon about two months ago to switch to a full-time job. He says the request has not been granted, but the company continues to bring in new hires. When one of the organizers invited him to a union organizing call, he attended and eventually decided to join the union campaign.

“Everything they were fighting for aligned with everything I experienced,” he said. “Once I found that out, I jumped on board.”

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