About 1,500 workers at an Amazon sorting center on Staten Island will be eligible to vote this week in an election that could create a second union at the company in the United States.
This month, an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island with over 8,000 workers became the first location Vote to unifysupport the union by more than 10 percentage points, even though Amazon find a way to turn upside down result.
If workers at the smaller facility, known as the LDJ5, vote to unionize, they will join the Amazon Labor Union, similarly independent worker-led unions was successful at the warehouse. Votes will be counted starting next Monday.
At a rally outside the facility on Sunday, Madeline Wesley, treasurer of the Amazon Labor Union, said a union was needed because of the part-timers, on whom the facility depends so much. many, unable to have enough hours to feed themselves.
Hours are “not based on what workers want or workers need,” said Ms Wesley, who works at LDJ5,. “It builds on what Amazon has found to be most efficient at the expense of workers.”
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on workers’ complaints about the scheduling arrangement.
In an interview at the rally, Ms Wesley said that the union expected an easier time organizing LDJ5 after the warehouse win but Amazon was actively trying to convince workers to quit. vote no.
An outstanding win for unity at Amazon
Workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island have delivered one of the greatest feats of organized labor in a generation.
Although the union’s outlook “looked bleak a few weeks ago, no one is giving up,” Ms. Wesley said. “They persevered and kept talking to their colleagues. The vibe has changed dramatically in the building. I think we had a good shot. “
But unions face obstacles in the election, including shorter time organizing workers at the sorting center and the fact that most of the corporation’s top officials and organizers work. at a larger facility, known as JFK8, giving them less direct access. for workers at LDJ5.
Many unions also have a harder time organizing workplaces with a large proportion of part-time workers, who may be less invested in organizing campaigns.
The workers who would walk to the sorting center in a four-hour shift, often traveling 30 to 60 minutes each way, tended to be “a specific group of people who really had a hard time getting get it,” said Gene Bruskin, a longtime employee. organizer who advised the Amazon Labor Federation in two Staten Island elections.
Mr. Bruskin, who is known for overseeing a successful campaign at a large meat processing plant in Smithfield in 2008, adding: “When you have a workforce like that, it’s really tough. You have a lot of people who can have a more of an attitude, ‘It’s just a part-time gig, I’m not staying here.’ It was an uphill battle. ”
Mr. Bruskin and other labor officials worked to help overcome these challenges by enlisting the help of organizers from other unions, who participated in calling, scheduling meetings Meet with workers and talk to employees off-site.
Uriel Concepción, who works four-hour shifts at the facility, said in an interview on Sunday that a union would improve working conditions there. Mr. Concepción says 16 hours a week isn’t enough to pay the bills at home, where he lives with his parents, but Amazon has never accepted his repeated requests for a full-time job.
Eric Barrios, another worker at the facility, said in an interview that he has yet to decide on whether to support the union. He said he also works 16 hours a week and can’t get overtime, but he worries that some of the union’s goals are unrealistic.
“Some of the things they are saying are far-fetched, such as 30 dollars an hour pay,” Mr. Barrios said at the rally on Sunday. “I’m here to see if I’m swayed.”
The rally appeared to draw a crowd of more than 100, although many attendees did not work at the facility.
However, the momentum of this month’s victory seems to have spurred more outsiders to support the union campaign. Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Union of Postal Workers, and Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, appeared at the rally on Sunday afternoon.
“I am truly inspired,” Ms. Nelson told attendees, adding, “This union is the answer to my prayers.”
On Sunday morning, Senator Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, appear at the site also.
“I’m going to Staten Island to show my support for the incredible courage of the Amazon workers there who stood up and defeated one of the greatest corporations in America,” Sanders said. in an interview on Friday.
He also called on President Biden to take a more active role in supporting union campaigns at Amazon and other companies, such as Starbuckswhere more than 20 stores have consolidated since December.
“I’ve made an offer to the White House – why don’t you have a meeting with some organizers with active unions?” Mr. Sanders said. “Invite an organizer from Starbucks, from Amazon, from other unions organizing. Listen to them, learn from them, ask what they want, how the White House can help.”
The International Brotherhood has 1.3 million members commit itself to unite Amazon, playing a key role in the broader organizational campaign at the company because of its vast reach and resources. Sean O’Brien, president of Teamsters, has talk about spending hundreds of millions of dollars about effort.
Mr. O’Brien and Christian Smalls, presidents of the Amazon Labor Federation, see you this month to discuss how Research Teams can assist Amazon employees in securing contracts with Amazon, according to Research Teams.
Another alliance, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Alliance, seems to have lost narrowly a vote at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama when the votes are counted in late March. But the return is smaller than the number of votes challenged, making the outcome uncertain.
Karen Weise contribution report.
