Amazon workers vote to unionize Staten Island warehouse

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York City appear to have enough votes to unionize. If the lead holds, the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island will join the Amazon Labor Union. The latest count had 2,350 yes and 1,812 no votes.

The National Labor Relations Board determined in January that the facility had enough interest to hold an election. 5,000 people work at the facility.

The ALU has been trying to unionize Amazon workers in New York. The request to hold a union election for two Amazon facilities on Staten Island was withdrawn because it didn't have enough signatures. The JFK8 warehouse, which was the site of several worker protests and strikes during the height of the coronaviruses, was the focus of the union's refiled in December.

The ALU is not affiliated with a national union. Christian Smalls was fired from the Staten Island site after organizing a walk out.

The first union for Amazon warehouse workers in the US was approved by the JFK8 election. The National Labor Relations Board ordered a re-do of an election held last year after it determined that Amazon had interfered with the first election. The final result was so close that there will be a hearing on the challenged ballots. The union and Amazon will have the opportunity to file any objections to the election over the coming month, as the hearing is expected to be scheduled in the next few weeks.

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