Amazon workers on Staten Island made history as they voted to join an independent union. By Annie McDonough
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MAZON WORKERS MADE history on Staten Island on April 1 as they voted to create the company’s first unionized warehouse after a series of failed organizing attempts at the behemoth employer’s facilities across the country. According to the final tally announced by the National Labor Relations Board, workers at Amazon’s JFK8 fulfillment center on Staten Island voted 2654 to 2131 in favor of joining the Amazon Labor Union – an upstart union led by Chris Smalls, who was fired from the facility during the COVID-19 pandemic after raising concerns about health and safety conditions, and Derrick Palmer, a current JFK8 employee. The NLRB said that the facility had roughly 8,000 eligible voters and counted over 4,700 ballots cast in the election – marking a relatively high turnout. Only 67 ballots were contested, far too few to compromise the union’s 523 vote lead. “We @amazonlabor has just (become) the first
union for @amazon in The United States of America!” Palmer tweeted after the final tally was announced. On the afternoon of March 31, when the union’s lead was still growing, Smalls told a reporter that he thought the Amazon lawyers watching the vote count were getting nervous. “I love watching them squirm. They’re drinking mad water,” he told Vice’s Lauren Kaori Gurley. “We’re disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees,” Amazon said in a statement on April 1. “We’re evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) witnessed in this election.” It’s unclear exactly how Amazon is suggesting that the NLRB exerted undue influence, but the statement links to an article on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s website noting that the NLRB filed a court injunction to reinstate a fired union activist at the JFK8 warehouse. New York lawmakers congratulated the union for its historic win. “Truly a David vs Goliath moment and I am so friggin proud of these guys! And to think it happened on Staten Island!” state Sen. Diane Savino wrote on Twitter. “Felicidades to @amazonlabor for building real worker power & winning where it was supposed to be impossible. Welcome to our labor family!” State Sen. Jessica Ramos tweeted. The organizing on Staten Island is led by an independent union, not an established
ANDREA RENAULT/AFP, ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
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