Amazon Labor Union
| File:Amazon Labor Union logo.png | |
| Formation | April 1, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Type | Labor union |
| Purpose | Organized labor for Amazon workers |
| Location | |
President | Christian Smalls |
| Website | amazonlaborunion |
The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) is a grassroots movement and the first independent labor union specifically for Amazon workers, created on April 1, 2022.[1]
History
JFK8 walkout
As the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States began, multiple reports of Amazon workers becoming infected with COVID-19 at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island resulted with workers asking for the facility to be temporarily closed in order to sanitize their workspace.[2] Amazon assistant manager Christian Smalls led a walkout on March 30, 2020 with dozens of fellow Amazon workers protesting Amazon's response to the outbreak of COVID-19.[2][3] Smalls was fired the same day; Amazon said that it fired Smalls due to violating an order to stay home for two weeks following a possible exposure to an infected employee, though Smalls said that he was not told to stay home until three weeks after the possible exposure occurred.[2][4][5]
Reaction
United States Senator Bernie Sanders called Amazon's firing of Smalls as "disgraceful", saying " I stand with Chris and all Amazon workers fighting for their safety".[3] The Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio responded to Smalls' firing by ordering his human rights commissioner to investigate the incident while the Attorney General of New York Letitia James also described Amazon's actions as "disgraceful" and that she was "considering all legal options".[2] In February 2021, Vox reported that James filed a lawsuit against Amazon for not providing adequate safeguards for workers during the pandemic and for firing Smalls unlawfully, with her lawsuit citing two Amazon human resources employees stating that Smalls' firing "did not seem justified" and demanding that Smalls have the opportunity to return to his position, be given back pay and "emotional stress damages" compensation.[6] Kelly Nantel, spokesperson for Amazon, responded to the lawsuit stating "we don’t believe the Attorney General’s filing presents an accurate picture of Amazon’s industry-leading response to the pandemic".[6]
In a news leak of an internal Amazon memo to Vice News, Amazon general counsel David Zapolsky spoke at an executive meeting attended by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, allegedly saying about Smalls:[3]
He’s not smart, or articulate, and to the extent the press wants to focus on us versus him, we will be in a much stronger PR position than simply explaining for the umpteenth time how we’re trying to protect workers ... We should spend the first part of our response strongly laying out the case for why the organizer’s conduct was immoral, unacceptable, and arguably illegal, in detail, and only then follow with our usual talking points about worker safety. Make him the most interesting part of the story, and if possible make him the face of the entire union/organizing movement.
Zapolsky responded to the leak saying "My comments were personal and emotional. ...I let my emotions draft my words and get the better of me", while Smalls said "Amazon wants to make this about me, but whether Jeff Bezos likes it or not, this is about Amazon workers – and their families – everywhere".[3]
Union organizing
They said they’d make me the whole face of the union effort against Amazon ... I’m trying to make them eat their words
—Christian Smalls[3]
Following the failed Bessemer union drive at an Amazon facility in Alabama, Smalls concluded that he should lead a grassroots movement to organize the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), an entirely independent union, after assessing the attacks Amazon made against the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union during the Bessemer drive.[5][7] Smalls explained his decision, saying to The Guardian "If established unions had been effective, they would have unionized Amazon already. We have to think about 21st century-style unionizing. It’s how do we build up the workers’ solidarity."[3] Smalls was joined by two other individuals that were employed and disciplined by Amazon – Derrick Palmer and Gerald Bryson – who began an effort to organize a labor union on April 20, 2021 by having workers sign authorization cards required by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to officially establish a union.[3] Amazon responded to the ALU's efforts by "sending anti-union texts to workers, posting anti-union signs in bathrooms and surveilling the unionization efforts", according to The Guardian.[3]
For over six months, Smalls and the ALU stationed themselves outside of the JFK8 warehouse to encourage workmates to sign NLRB authorization cards; the NLRB requires at least 30 percent of a workforce to sign cards in order to authorize an election to officially recognize a labor union.[8][9] On October 25, 2021, Press Secretary for the National Labor Relations Board Kayla Blado announced that the ALU submitted enough authorization cards, requiring the creation of an union-authorizing election.[9] According to the New York Times, Amazon was required to "notify workers at the facilities via text notifications and signage of the union petition".[9] Amazon spokesperson Nantel responded to the NLRB's announcement saying that the company was "skeptical that a sufficient number of legitimate employee signatures has been secured to warrant an election ... If there is an election, we want the voice of our employees to be heard and look forward to it. Our focus remains on listening directly to our employees and continuously improving on their behalf."[9]
Founding
Over a two-day period between March 31 and April 1, 2022, workers voted for unionizing the Staten Island facility.[1] On April 1, 2022, the final tally of votes resulted with 2,654 in favor of unionizing and 2,131 voting against, officially resulting with the creation of the Amazon Labor Union as the first independent Amazon union in the United States.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Amazon workers at New York warehouse vote to form company's first US union". CNN. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- ^ a b c d Evelyn, Kenya (2020-03-31). "Amazon fires New York worker who led strike over coronavirus concerns". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Wong, Julia Carrie (2020-04-02). "Amazon execs labeled fired worker 'not smart or articulate' in leaked PR notes". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Amazon Fired the Warehouse Worker Who Organized a Walkout Over Coronavirus". Vice. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Greenhouse, Steven (2021-06-04). "Amazon fired him – now he's trying to unionize 5,000 workers in New York". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Del Rey, Jason (2021-02-17). "New York is suing Amazon over pandemic labor conditions". Vox. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Amazon warehouse workers in New York file for a union vote". NPR. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
It's a product of a self-organized, grassroots worker group called the Amazon Labor Union, financed via GoFundMe.
- ^ "Amazon workers in Staten Island, N.Y., file for union election". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Weise, Karen (2021-10-25). "Amazon workers on Staten Island show they have enough support to hold a union election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-26.