Amazon workers in Albany vote against unionization, labor leader calls it 'sham election'

Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to unionize at the NLRB office in Brooklyn, New York, October 25, 2021.

Employees at an Amazon warehouse near Albany overwhelmingly rejected a unionization effort on Tuesday.

There were 206 votes in favor of the union. Workers at the ALB1 warehouse were able to vote on whether to join the Amazon Labor Union. There were four voided votes. The National Labor Relations Board needs to certify the results.

The Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots organization of current and former Amazon employees, had a historic win in April at the JFK8 warehouse. In May, the group lost a vote at a warehouse.

The president of the ALU said in a statement that the voting process was not free and fair. The company has been charged with 27 unfair labor practice charges by the ALU.

Workers were subjected to intimidation and retaliation on a daily basis and even the workers who volunteered to be election observers were faced with threats of dismissal.

There was no response from representatives from Amazon.

The union could help employees get higher wages. The starting wage at the facility was raised to $17 an hour last month, along with pay increases for front-line workers.

The rapid pace of work has led to high injury rates and caused employee burnout according to the organizers of ALB1

The first unionized Amazon warehouse in the U.S. was established after ALU's victory at JFK 8.

The union is locked in a legal battle with Amazon which has argued that the results should be thrown out. The company's objections should be thrown out, according to an official from the National Labor Relations Board. It would appeal.

Amazon is facing an increase in labor organizing. A group of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Southern California are trying to join the ALU. In time for Amazon's fall Prime Day discount event, employees at some of the company's facilities in California, Illinois and Georgia walked off the job.