Amazon Labor Union, which made history in April by uniting the first Amazon warehouse in the U.S., lost its latest campaign today at a factory in Schodack, New York. Workers voted 406 to 206 against unionizing, the ALU’s second defeat in three union campaigns at Amazon warehouses.
The result was a setback for workers seeking more voice at Amazon, a staunch opponent of unionization and spending months challenging Staten Island’s only successful campaign.
“We are proud of the brave workers of upstate New York who have stood up to challenge trillion-dollar companies,” ALU President Chris Smalls wrote in a statement at the Schodack organization. He claimed the vote was unfair because Amazon intimidated workers on a daily basis to prevent unions from winning.
Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel welcomed the results in her own statement today. “We are delighted that our team in Albany has their voices heard and that they have chosen to maintain a direct relationship with Amazon because we believe this is the best arrangement for our employees and customers,”she wrote.
Today’s vote brings the total number of Amazon warehouses trying to unionize to four. After winning the first election at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island in April, the ALU lost a second election at a smaller warehouse across the street. The retail, wholesale and department store union held re-elections this year to represent workers in Bessemer, Alabama, but the results were still too close.
The union’s defeat at the ALB1 warehouse in Schodack near Albany follows a week of labor unrest at Amazon that coincided with last week’s Prime Early Access Sale. Workers at two plants in Georgia and two in Illinois have gone on strike over demands including pay raises, injury prevention and sexual harassment. On the same day, workers in Moreno Valley, the logistics hub of California’s Inland Empire, applied for California’s first ALU election. Three days later, workers at Amazon’s nearby air transportation hub in San Bernardino went on strike, demanding higher wages and better working conditions.
Today’s failed campaign stems from the personal history of lead organizer Heather Goodall. In February, she took a job picking and packing goods at ALB1, trying to find out if what she had read about Amazon’s harsh working conditions was true. She became interested in work conditions after one of her sons committed suicide, becoming one of a string of suicides and murder-suicides by employees of chipmaker GlobalFoundries, which she believes has something to do with poor work conditions. (GlobalFoundries says the health and safety of its employees is a top priority and offers 24/7 consultation.)
Goodall quickly concluded that “the rumors are true” about Amazon’s poor working conditions. She witnessed injuries, high turnover and signs telling workers “no coronavirus wages”. There’s no excuse, she said, “to disregard state law. Ambulances are common outside the warehouse, and one used to come to her after she suffered a heart attack while on her shift,” Goodall said. When it does, it becomes normalized and people stop questioning it,” she said.
