Amazon's Staten Island warehouse workers seek union vote

Workers at the Amazon warehouse in New York's Staten Island launched a union drive in a bid to organize one of the world’s largest employers. The independent Amazon Labor Union 9ALU) said on Thursday that it will submit its filing for National Labor Relations Board recognition on Monday, setting up an employee vote at four different locations to formally unionize. Christian Smalls, president of ALU said that the group has already collected authorization cards from 2,100 of the 7,000 local workers. "I know that we have a huge battle ahead of us, so I got to get right back to it right after we file. But right now, this moment, it’s sort of like a weight lifted off my shoulders. A small one, but still a weight", he added. 

The organizing movement came after the contested union elections held at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in April. Although the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) vote failed, an NRLB hearing officer suggested that it be set aside in August and a new election be held after finding that Amazon's tactics had skewed the election results. A final ruling on the do-over is still pending. 

(Note: Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post)

Source: The Washington Post