The ALU also benefits from geography. “New York City is a union city,” RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum said at a press conference Thursday night, noting that he was “thrilled” for the ALU, which at the time was already ahead on the outcome. “This is one of the most union-friendly towns in one of the most union-friendly cities in the United States. On the other hand, Alabama has a different environment. It’s a working rights state with very, very low union density. ” (Unions in right-to-work states cannot require workers to pay dues or union membership fees, undermining their power.)
In both Bessemer and Staten Island, Amazon sent expensive union avoidance consultants to run violent anti-union campaigns, embargoing workers with “vote no” messages, in-app messages, letters , advertisement, private chats and anti-union meetings. ONE Huffington Post Report Thursday’s announcement showed that the company spent $4.3 million on anti-union consultants last year. Over the course of a year-long campaign, the ALU filed dozens of unfair labor practices accusations with the NLRB, accusing Amazon of actions including removing pro-union material and retaliating against workers. support ALU.
Amazon has been around for a long time fight against labor organization, but the Covid-19 crisis has pushed it into overdrive. Employee dissatisfaction grows as executives work Billion for profit, while essential workers risk their safety to meet booming e-commerce demand during the pandemic. A few months after the closure, depressed workers in Bessemer contacted RWDSU on merge.
Other staff members are staged Demonstration and walks, blowing up the company for not protecting them adequately. On Staten Island, Amazon workers Christian Smalls, Gerald Bryson, Jordan Flowers and Derrick Palmer organized a walk through the JFK8 warehouse, after Smalls said top management asked him not to notify the communities. Level 1 that he oversees for their exposure to Covid-19.
In a statement, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel wrote: “Since the early days of Covid, we have always followed the guidance of federal and local health authorities, as well as other government agencies. workplace health and safety experts and independent epidemiologists, ensuring we can continue to serve the community while providing a safe and healthy work environment,” cites The $15 billion the company has spent on Covid-19 safety.
The company quickly fired Smalls for violating its quarantine policy, which he said didn’t exist until after his layoff. It also fired Bryson for violating its policy against profanity. Last month, the labor department request a federal court to reinstate Bryson, who filed charges of unfair labor practices, accusing the company of retaliation. Executives have vowed to make Smalls the face of the union movement, according to a leaked memo to Evil behavior, saying he’s “unintelligent or unintelligible.” Smalls set a goal of “making them profitable”.
Smalls has traveled across the country to continue his protests, including one in October 2020 outside. Jeff Bezos’ Mansion in Beverly Hills. In April 2021, Smalls and his former colleagues formed the Amazon Labor Union, with Smalls as president.
Organizers lobbied at the warehouse daily, setting up a makeshift headquarters at a nearby bus stop where they had staff to withstand rain, snow and sub-zero temperatures until the NLRB in May. twelfth settled allowing them to occupy the rest rooms inside the facility. They flooded social media with image food delivery to workers and video of union members representing barbecue companies in anti-union meetings. They command the Voice of the Associates Board, where workers can send feedback to their supervisors, to challenge anti-union messages. They told the workers that ALU was fighting for a raise to $30 an hour, longer breaks and better job security, among other demands.
