STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizers celebrated history Friday as Staten Island’s JFK8 facility became nation’s first Amazon location to vote in favor of a union.
The independent ALU won its election by a margin of 2,654 to 2,131, but union President Christian Smalls, who the company fired in March 2020 at the height of the pandemic, said their work has just begun.
“Two years ago my life changed forever. I only wanted to do the right thing and speak up for the workers behind me,” Smalls said shortly after the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) finished its vote tally at its Brooklyn office in MetroTech Center.
“We went for the top dog, because we wanted every other industry every other business to know that things have changed. We gonna unionize...this is a prime example of the power people have when they come together.”
Amazon fired Smalls after he led a walkout protest due to what he and other workers have described as unsafe conditions at the company’s Bloomfield facilities — a claim Amazon refutes.
On Friday, the tech giant issued a statement blaming the NLRB — the federal agency charged with overseeing the nation’s regulated unionization efforts. Amazon didn’t offer specifics on what NLRB actions it objected to.
“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,” the company wrote in their statement.
“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.”
The National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce are two national organizations in favor of business owners.
NLRB has taken a number of enforcement actions against Amazon in recent years, including a lawsuit filed on behalf of Staten Island worker Gerald Bryson. NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado said ensuring fair labor practices falls under the board’s purview.
“The NLRB is an independent federal agency that Congress has charged with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act,” she said. “All NLRB enforcement actions against Amazon have been consistent with that Congressional mandate.”
Amazon has long been a target of criticism and sometimes legal action in the U.S. for its anti-unionization efforts. Despite similar employees having unions in Europe, no U.S. facility has been able to organize.
As he celebrated in Brooklyn on Friday, Bryson, of West Brighton, said that the election victory was the first step to a whole new way of life for the workers at JFK8.
“We got a lot of work to do, but we’re gonna stay loyal to what we came her to do, and that’s to make [workers’] jobs easier in that building,” he said. “That building is hell.”
NLRB LAWSUIT
Locally, NLRB filed a federal suit last month against Amazon over Bryson’s firing after he participated in the same protests that saw Smalls lose his job.
NLRB Regional Director Kathy Drew-King, who oversees the region that includes the Staten Island complex, brought the suit, and alleged that the company unfairly fired Bryson for exercising his rights as an employee.
“No matter how large the employer, it is important for workers to know their rights — particularly during a union election — and that the NLRB will vociferously defend them,” Drew-King said in a statement.
If the suit is successful, Amazon would have to offer Bryson his job back, and the company would need to hold a mandatory meeting at JFK8, where it will read a notice of employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
‘MONUMENTAL FOR THE LABOR MOVEMENT’
Sochie Nnaemeka, director of the New York Working Families Party, congratulated the workers on their victory.
“Corporations are reaping record profits while families struggle just to make ends meet,” Nnaemeka said. “It’s no wonder that workers are rising up and demanding an economy that works for all of us, not just the very wealthy.”
Amazon Labor Union organizer Brett Daniels addresses the media Friday, April 1, 2022. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)
Workers at the JFK8 Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bloomfield had their first chance to vote on whether they’d like to join the independent union staring March 25.
ALU President Christian Smalls, who the company fired in March 2020 at the height of the pandemic after he staged a walkout protest over JFK8′s poor health conditions, said in mid-March that he felt good about the union’s efforts.
Supporters, including several local and citywide politicians, joined the union outside the Gulf Avenue facility for a rally last month in the lead-up to the vote.
State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) joined workers in Brooklyn on Friday to witness history. A former labor organizer, Savino said the union still has a long way to go.
“This is monumental for the labor movement, for these workers themselves. It is almost unprecedented to see an independent organizing effort succeed and to succeed against the largest corporation in the free world,” she said. “Now comes the hard part. Now, they have to build the union, because Amazon’s not going to take this lying down.”
Democratic congressional candidate Brittany Ramos-Debarros and Fitim Shabani — the Staten Island Borough Advocate as part of the office of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — also attended the celebration.
“I think that these workers have demonstrated their grit, their commitment against all odds,” she said. “It’s just amazing what they’ve been able to pull off.”
Up next for the local union, is another election in late April at the Bloomfield campus’ LDJ5 facility, but organizers said they’re not stopping there.
Smalls said that they hope to organize all four of the tech giant’s Staten Island warehouses, and have been hearing from Amazon workers around the country.
“We’re going to support any effort against Amazon no matter what union is organizing,” he said. “We’re here to lend our advice, lend our support. All you got to do is bring us in.”
ALABAMA UNION VOTE
Amazon appeared to beat back a second union challenge at an Alabama fulfillment center, as workers once again voted against being represented by the Retail Workers and Department Store Union (RDSU). However, the number of contested votes could still put the count in the workers’ favor.
Daniels said the union’s independence from larger establishment unions helped them better organize workers at the Bloomfield warehouse. Though independent, ALU has long had the support of more established unions.
“It shows that it can be done without affiliating with a nationally-recognized union,” Daniels said. “Community power, community-led movements is where it’s at. It can be done without being affiliated with an established union.”