The results are in, even though two recent elections to unionize two Amazon fulfillment centers have yet to be officially authorized. However, it appears that an Amazon distribution center in Staten Island, NY will soon be the first in the company’s history to be organized.
That’s because on April 1 workers at the warehouse, known as JFK8, voted 2,654 to 2,131 in support of  the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) by 55-45 percent margin, according to a count released by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
And Amazon workers at a second warehouse on New York’s Staten Island are also going to vote on whether to form a union later this month. Workers at the warehouse, known as LDJ5, will cast their ballots on whether to join ALU beginning April 25. Votes are set to be counted by NLRB on May 2.
At another Amazon facility in Bessemer, AL, it appears that for a second time, Amazon has fought off an attempt to organize that larger fulfillment center.
Both results have been appealed – by Amazon in Staten Island, and by both Amazon and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) in Bessemer.
In Staten Island, Amazon filed a legal objection, alleging the union organizers and the NLRB acted in a way to taint the process, and now wants to redo that election.
“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 an April 1 statement, adding that they were evaluating their options. A week later, they made their legal filing to the NLRB asking for a new election. In that filing, Amazon detailed 25 objections to the result in Staten Island, including alleging that the union’s offer to workers of marijuana amounted to an “impermissible grant of support” for workers’ votes. They also objected to union supporters’ interruptions of mandatory anti-union meetings limited Amazon’s right to communicate with employees.
Amazon was also critical of the NLRB, saying the way the agency investigated complaints from workers and pursued enforcement against Amazon resulted in an unfair advantage for the union. The Seattle-based delivery juggernaut also said NLRB didn’t properly conduct the election, including by not having enough staff on hand to manage voting, which resulted in long lines and suppressed turnout.
The ALU denied the company’s claims and said they are ready to negotiate with Amazon on a contract for its workers.
The NLRB granted Amazon a two-week extension, to April 22, to provide additional evidence supporting its objections.
The vote to organize the Bessemer depot was originally deemed too close to call, but the union trails in the initial tally. That election is being challenged by the RWDSU, which in a press release said Amazon “threatened an employee with plant closure if the union was voted in,” barred employees from posting pro-union literature, and “engaged in surveillance and/or created the impression of surveillance of employees engaged in protected concerted activities,” among many other things. The union is asking the NLRB to schedule a hearing on its objections to determine whether the results of the second Bessemer election should be set aside and a new election held.
When the voting ended in Bessemer on March 31, there were 993 “no” votes and 875 “yes” votes, with 59 voided votes and 416 contested ballots, which mathematically are sufficient to change the result. There were about 200 fewer votes cast this year versus last year’s initial election. According to the NLRB, there will be a hearing within a few weeks to decide if any of the challenged ballots will be opened and counted.
Ironically, even though that it was leading the tally after the votes were counted, Amazon is also protesting the process. Amazon detailed eight objections to the vote in Bessemer, including several related to misrepresentation or improper conduct when the union visited employees at home. One objection was against the labor board itself, for deciding to hold the election by mail instead of in person, which Amazon said depressed turnout. However, Amazon stopped short of calling for a new election.
As for the RWDSU’s objections to the Bessemer election, president Stuart Applebaum stated: “Every vote must be counted. Workers at Amazon endured a needlessly long and aggressive fight to unionize their workplace, with Amazon doing everything it could to spread misinformation and deceit. We will hold Amazon accountable, and we will be filing objections on their behavior. Workers will have to wait just a little bit longer to ensure their voices are heard, and our union will be with them at every step to ensure their voices are heard under the law. What we do know is that this moment is historic, and the workers in Bessemer, AL have inspired working people all over the country and all over the world to fight for change at their workplaces, including other organizing at Amazon around the country.”
The election in Bessemer constituted the second time employees at that fulfillment center had weighed in on organizing. Last April, Amazon secured enough votes to defeat the unionization drive, seeming to deliver a blow to organized labor which had hoped to unionize a U.S. Amazon facility for the first time. However, RWDSU challenged the results and filed objections over Amazon’s election conduct with the NLRB, as well as a number of unfair labor practice charges, alleging that “Amazon interfered with the rights of its Bessemer, AL employees to vote in a free and fair election.”
The initial effort in Bessemer was a protracted labor battle, with Amazon hiring the same law firm it used to assist with negotiations during a 2014 failed union drive in Delaware. Amazon made its position on the union campaign clear to workers at the Bessemer facility last year by holding mandatory meetings, setting up a website urging workers to “do it without dues” and distributing pamphlets instructing workers to “Vote No” on the historic election.
RWDSU specifically called out the mailbox that was installed in front of the Bessemer facility, including claims that it was placed there by the U.S. Postal Service at the direction of Amazon. The company said the mailbox was intended to make it more convenient for workers to vote, adding that only the Postal Service had access to the mailbox.
Ultimately, NLRB agreed with the union’s position and ordered the new vote that is currently awaiting finalization.
Other recent labor drives have also been picking up momentum. Since the first corporate Starbucks location voted to unionize late last year, 10 others have voted with only one store voting against unionizing. The latest and largest Starbucks to unionize is the company’s flagship store in Manhattan, which voted 46-36 on April 1 to unionize.
In response, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, who re-took the helm for his third stint as CEO earlier this month, told  a weekly meeting of store managers earlier this month that benefits he was considering expanding for non-union employees would not immediately apply to the company’s newly unionized workers, according to published reports.
