On October 17, employees at an Amazon fulfillment center near Albany, NY voted decisively against unionization. The organizing effort was staged by the newly created Amazon Labor Union (ALU) which successfully won a union election at a larger amazon facility (JFK8) in Staten Island, NY earlier this year.
According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), 949 workers were eligible to vote and only 206 votes were cast in favor of unionization. There were 406 votes that rejected the union efforts and 31 ballots were challenged by either Amazon or the ALU at the fulfillment center known as ALB1, which handles oversize items such as large scree televisions and outdoor equipment.
This marked the fourth attempt in 2022 by labor unions to organize Amazon distribution centers. Three of those have now failed – in Bessemer, AL; at a smaller facility in Staten Island; and now in Upstate New York.
The union was asking for higher wages and safer working conditions at the warehouse in Castleton-on-Hudson. Amazon recently raised its starting wage at the facility from $15.70 to $17 an hour.
“We’re glad that our team in Albany was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep the direct relationship with Amazon,” Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokeswoman, said in a statement.
After the election, ALU President Chris Smalls said in a statement that the defeat would not be the end of the union’s presence at the Albany warehouse and that the voting process “wasn’t free and fair.”
“We’re proud of the brave workers in Upstate New York who stood up in the face of a vicious anti-union campaign to challenge a trillion-dollar corporation,” Smalls said. “When workers are empowered to take on a greedy uncaring company with a poor safety track record and a high churn rate of workers, it isn’t a loss, it’s an ongoing battle,” he noted.
Earlier this month, the NLRB received a petition for workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Moreno Valley, CA (ONT8) that employs about 800. Kayla Blado, a spokesperson for NLRB, said her agency is waiting for additional paperwork from the union before it can begin to verify that the group collected enough signed cards (30 percent minimum) before the
NLRB can move forward with the election process.
