Amazon unions gather momentum this week for elections at an 800-man warehouse near Albany, N.Y.
Recently, the Federal Labor Authority Amazon disputed the union’s victory in April’s staten island warehouse election, but worker dissatisfaction with wages and safety increased its supporters and the company. It created an opportunity to pressure them to negotiate.
But unions face the question of whether such opportunities can be transformed into lasting gains. In the months following the triumph at his 8,000-person warehouse in Staten Island, the union seemed over the edge. It was overwhelmed by international media attention and nearly buckled, losing votes at Staten Island’s second warehouse in May.
Sometimes we have neglected to organize within the original warehouse known as JFK8. High turnover means unions have to do constant outreach just to maintain support. Not to mention expansion. Union president and former JFK8 employee Christian Smalls seemed distracted from his extensive travels. he has burnout infighting Within the group, several core members have left or been kicked out.
Casio Mendoza, a JFK8 worker and union communications director, hinted that the priorities of promoting contracts and building more warehouses were competing, saying, “It’s not clear what goals we should be working toward. was,” he said.
Elections, which take place over four days Wednesday through Monday in Castleton-on-Hudson, near Albany, will help determine whether previous problems were natural growing pains or a symptom of a more serious impairment. There is a possibility.
Amazon has questioned the experience of the Amazon union, saying it does not believe the union represents workers’ views. He said he would invest $1 billion.
As supporters and leaders testified in hearings over 24 business days starting in mid-June, one of the union’s biggest turnarounds in recent months has been Amazon’s attempt to reverse a victory that has consumed time and resources. The union delayed plans to train more workers as organizers. A nationwide call to organize was put on hold.
Just before Labor Day, officials from the National Labor Relations Commission, which runs the hearings, dismissed Amazon’s challenge and recommended unions be recognized. Local officials still have to intervene.
The findings appeared to strengthen unions within the Staten Island warehouse, but management responded by sending a message to workers that the company intended to appeal. We believe a direct relationship with you is the best,” the message said.
Around the same time, the union began to refocus. We opened an office in Staten Island in late August, hired two full-time staff, and set up a database to track employee support. “We feel we are in a better place than we have ever been,” Mendoza said.
The union invited prominent labor organizations to conduct regular face-to-face training on how to promote contracts. We ended up making two phone calls to recruit and train leaders to organize the nationwide drive.
“Your building could be next. That’s why we’re making this call,” Madeline Wesley, organizer of the Amazon union at Warehouse No. 2 on Staten Island, said in a call. It was attended by workers who said they were from facilities in Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington.
The union says it has set aside about a fifth of its $500,000-plus budget for expansion, with other projects including a campaign at Castleton-on-Hudson and a warehouse east of Ross. We are already supporting the organizing campaign. Angeles. Her Nannette Plascencia, a self-proclaimed “soccer mom” and organizer of the California facility, said: party Working in Hollywood, she recalled in an interview that the Amazon union decided it “understood where we were coming from.”
In late September, Amazon told workers it was raising hourly wages to reflect local market conditions, and promised price increases of more than $1 at many warehouses. However, at JFK8, wages started at his $18.25 an hour, with raises ranging from 25 cents to 75 cents an hour depending on level and tenure.
“Buying groceries is not enough,” said Celia Kamasca, a warehouse employee. “I wish they hadn’t said anything.”
The union highlighted a small raise at a barbeque outside the warehouse, which happened to be planned for the afternoon shortly after workers learned of it. We’re not going to do that,” said Smalls, union president and event MC.
Union officials have circulated a petition demanding that Amazon come to the negotiating table and give Staten Island workers an immediate increase in the cost of living. Packer Brandon Wagner, who has been working in a warehouse for about a month and said he used to earn $17 an hour at Wendy’s, says workers are queuing for food because workers are underpaid. I signed the petition in between.
Amazon spokesman Paul Flanningan said the national average wage for most front-line jobs is $19 or more an hour, and full-time employees have health insurance, paid parental leave, and a 401 from day one. It said it offers a “comprehensive package of benefits” including: (k) matching.
Unions still face many obstacles.Amazon I could spend years The company still has enormous power over JFK8 workers after it appealed the Staten Island election results. was suspended on pay and an investigation into what happened. The union filed unfair labor practices charges in connection with the suspension. Amazon said most of its workers have returned to work.
The polls near Albany will be the union’s most visible and direct test.
In interviews outside warehouses handling large items such as lawn mowers and televisions, many workers raised safety concerns and said salaries were too low given the difficulty of the work. New workers earned a base wage of $15.70 an hour before the $1.30 increase this month.
Others complained that Amazon was too quick to discipline employees for minor violations.
David Bournt, who scans items before putting them in the trash, said he was recorded recently due to a misunderstanding over quotas. He argued that unions could relieve such stress.
“It’s the one who has your back,” Bornt said. “I have four children, one of whom is pregnant. you can’t.”
Other employees said they were satisfied with their wages and benefits and opposed the union because they did not see how the union could improve the situation.
“There is no need for that at all,” said Anthony Huff, one of those workers. “I just got a raise.”
According to government data, Albany is one of the most organized metropolitan areas in the country, with many employees expressing positive opinions about unions. However, some say their past experiences with organized workplaces have reduced their willingness to join another workplace. Some say they don’t trust the Amazon union in particular.
“ALU is new,” said another employee, Jacob Carpenter. “They haven’t given us any information.”
Election results are likely to shape perceptions of unions. Warehouse lead manager Heather Goodall is a member of the board of directors of the Amazon Workers Union, and union leaders like Treasurer Connor Spence regularly travel to the Albany area. Mr. Smalls has also traveled there.
Goodall said he joined Amazon in February and helped unionize its warehouses. Abnormally High Injury Rate, among other safety issues. Last week, the facility was evacuated after a cardboard compactor caught fire two days after the JFK8 fire, and so was this.
“The timeline for fixing things is before something tragic happens,” Goodall said.
She has accused Amazon of running an active anti-union campaign, questioned the union’s credibility at regular meetings with employees, and said joining a union would change the situation for workers. He suggested it could get worse.
Flanningan, a company spokesperson, said that while injuries have risen as Amazon trained hundreds of thousands of new workers in 2021, the company believes its safety record has lasted longer than any other retailer. I think it’s surpassed.
“Like many other companies, we hold these meetings because it is important for everyone to understand the facts about union membership and the election process itself,” he said. He added that the decision to join the union was up to the employees.