Amazon Union Loses Election At Staten Island Warehouse

After forming the first union at an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., the new Amazon Labor Union lost an election on Staten Island.

Workers at the Amazon sorting facility known as LDJ5 voted against unionizing by a count of 618-380 in a ballot count held by the National Labor Relations Board. The results may be challenged by the union because the labor board hasn't certified them.

The first Amazon facility in the U.S. to unionize was on Staten Island, where workers voted in favor of forming a union in late March and early April.

The LDJ5 facility has about 1,500 workers. If they had delivered another victory for the Amazon Labor Union, it would have added fuel to the fire.

All of Amazon's warehouses have fought union efforts. Managers and anti-union consultants held group meetings and one-on-one conversations with workers to encourage them to vote against the union. The company spent over $4 million on consultants last year.

The union accuses Amazon of violating labor law by retaliating against pro-union workers. Some of the union's allegations have been found to have merit by the general counsel.

The union may challenge the results at LDJ5 because they think Amazon swayed the vote. The labor board found that Amazon ordered a do-over vote in Alabama during a union election last year. There are ballots that are being challenged and the results of that election are not clear.

The labor board was asked to set aside the union's victory at JFK8 by Amazon. The labor board needs to investigate Amazon's claims.

Christian Smalls, a former Amazon employee who was fired after leading a strike over safety concerns, co-founded the new Amazon Labor Union. Smalls and his fellow organizers have built strong committees inside their warehouses to fight against Amazon's anti-union message.

The election win at JFK8 shocked the labor movement because the Amazon Labor Union did not exist until last year, and generally doesn't have the resources of an established union.

The union's earlier win has helped reignite hopes of a labor resurgence after decades of declining union membership rates. The rate of union membership has doubled in the early 1980s. In the private sector, only 6.1% of workers are union members.