Amazon employees are currently voting on unionization as the retail giant faces a labor lawsuit from the New York attorney general and the National Labor Relations Board for allegedly retaliating against workers who protested against purportedly lax COVID-19 safety policies.
On March 25, workers at Amazon’s largest warehouse on Staten Island started the vote to form their first-ever labor union. Voting will last until March 30. The National Labor Relations Board will announce the results. If the bill is passed, this will be Amazon’s first independent labor union.
Supporters of the vote are hoping to create a domino effect that would lead to more significant movements across Amazon. This election is the result of a two-year-long protest that was organized as a retaliation against Amazon for allegedly failing to provide the employees with safe working conditions during the pandemic.
A representative attorney of the Amazon employees, Eric Milner, says the supporters are “looking for higher wages, and just generally being treated with respect. I think they are looking for a voice in how things run”.
Other Amazon Unionization Efforts
The Staten Island Amazon warehouse is the second facility in Amazon’s history to hold an election over an employee dispute. The first was carried out last year in Bessemer, Alabama, where workers voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Departmental Store Union.
However, the organizers filed for a do-over. The do-over resulted from the mailbox Amazon installed to collect ballots at the employee entrance reportedly gave employees the impression that the company could control the votes.
The Staten Island Amazon warehouse election does not have a mail-in system. Workers will come in personally to cast a paper ballot vote. After March 30, the vote-counting is expected to take two or three days.
Amazon Employee Voter Eligibility
Only full-time Amazon employees, regular part-time employees, and associates are eligible to vote. According to an Amazon attorney, more than 8,000 employees are on the voter list.
However, both the organizers and Amazon have the right to challenge an individual’s eligibility to vote. For example, employees who no longer work for Amazon or whose new job makes them unfit to participate in Amazon-related matters would be considered ineligible to vote.
Ongoing Lawsuit in Manhattan State Court
In an ongoing lawsuit in Manhattan State Court, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Amazon of retaliation against employees for speaking out about the poor maintenance of COVID-19 policies.
The lawsuit calls for Amazon to rehire Christian Smalls, who was fired for leading the protest. Smalls is leading the employees working to establish the Amazon Labor Union.
Simultaneously, the termination of employee Gerald Bryson is pending a decision from the National Labor Relations Board, which seeks to give Bryson his job back. They claim that Bryson’s firing slowed down their efforts and that he should be reinstated before the votes kick-off.
Second Union Voting
A second vote is planned for April 25 at the second Staten Island location, as was announced by the organization representing pro-union employees last week.
According to Eric Milner, “It’s kind of like dominoes falling. If you get workers to say, ‘Hey, it’s actually possible,’ it can kind of catch on like wildfire.”
Amazon’s Statement
Amazon does not support unionization at the Staten Island location. The company wrote, “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have. As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”
Their statement, however, did not address questions about how Amazon would respond if the final vote favors unionization.