After successfully unionizing the first Amazon facility in the country in Staten Island last month, the new Amazon Labor Union (ALU) suffered defeat in its second attempt, this time at a smaller sorting facility, also in Staten Island, known as LDJ5 located about half-mile from the larger JFK fulfillment center.
The voting tally at LDJ5, which was conducted May 2, were 618-320 against joining ALU. The results have not yet been made official by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which conducted the election, but some reports say that ALU may challenge the results.
However, a statement made by ALU co-founder Christian Smalls seemed to indicate that the union has admitted defeat.
“Despite today’s outcome, I’m proud of the worker/organizers of LDJ5. They had a tougher challenge after our victory at JDK8. Our leads should be extremely proud to have given their co-workers a right to join a union. We will continue to organize and so should all of you,” said Smalls after the tally was announced.
In fact, neither election has yet been certified. Amazon has been granted a hearing based on its objections to the earlier New York union vote at a second Staten Island facility known as JFK8, and evidence behind those claims “could be grounds for overturning the election,” Cornele Overstreet, an official at NLRB, said in a filing April 29.
Overstreet, who heads the NLRB offices in Phoenix where the New York cases are being considered, set a hearing date of May 23 during which both sides can begin to present their cases after Amazon successfully argued that NLRB’s Brooklyn office appeared to support the union drive, filings show.
ALU was co-founded by Smalls, a former Amazon employee whom the company fired after he led a walkout over safety concerns early in the pandemic. The win at JFK8 surprised the labor movement because ALU did not exist before last year and generally doesn’t have the resources of an established union. In the election at JFK8, which has about 8,000 employees, the vote was 2,654 to 2,131 in favor of joining ALU.
The unionization push in New York follows an earlier attempt at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, AL conducted by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). There, in an election in April 2021, workers voted against joining RWDSU. However, the union accused Amazon of unfair practices in fighting efforts to organize the facility. After reviewing those objections, NLRB sided with the union and ordered a second vote, which was held last month. However, the union again failed to secure enough votes to unionize, with 993 “no” votes and 875 “yes” votes. However, with 59 voided votes and 416 contested votes, there are potentially enough to mathematically change the result if those ballots are ultimately accepted. 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.
