Warehouse Workers Vote to Form Amazon Labor Union
April 28, 2022
Amazon made online shopping and instant deliveries the norm. Now, a new dimension to labor relations is challenging its business model. There may be no going back to the days before Amazon Prime reshaped the way Americans shop, but we know more now about the story behind the scenes. The company’s cheap, convenient virtual shopping experience relies on a backbone of blue-collar workers who handle those instant orders by packing boxes and delivering goods on tight deadlines. Amazon workers are now speaking up for union membership and a bigger seat at the table.
For the first time in Amazon’s history, their warehouse workers voted to form a union. The online retail giant’s Staten Island warehouse is in the spotlight for its historic April 1 vote. This labor organizing attempt followed a similar labor campaign in Alabama last year (which initially fell short, but continues to play itself out). Corporate leadership opposed the formation of the “Amazon Labor Union” (ALU) forged by the labor campaign. Amazon responded by setting up meetings, websites, and other promotional material promoting a union-free workplace. Workers, though, seem to overwhelmingly favor labor union membership, as the company continues to make big profits from a business model launched long before Amazon’s market dominance.
Proponents of the ALU cite the benefits of union membership in contrast to the conditions experienced by Amazon’s workforce. Wages, hours, and safety protocols are key topics of collective bargaining highlighted by the ALU as they advocate for better working conditions. COVID-19 appears to have catapulted support for the labor movement in Amazon and other sectors, as frontline workers have faced significant challenges during the pandemic, without the ability to negotiate as a group.
Amazon’s leadership continues to challenge the recent vote and to stave off other union organizing attempts in different locations. Each labor union decision involves unique circumstances, depending on the scale of the vote (over 8,000 eligible participants at the Staten Island warehouse), local politics, state laws, and nature of work. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) aligns with workers’ unionization efforts, while Amazon works with the US Chamber of Commerce and other owners’ groups to resist those efforts. The future will determine if the recent vote in New York will turn the ALU into a nationwide phenomenon.
Amazon is a large tech company that has operated outside of the constraints of traditional industries. Business sectors with a longer history of union membership, such as auto manufacturing or construction, have had to negotiate with unions for years, but Amazon is in new territory. Blue-collar workforce demands may be reshaping the landscape of agile start-ups and independent contractors that define Silicon Valley, as tech further integrates with all areas of commerce and becomes increasingly influential in providing American employment. Even tech workers are beginning to form unions at high-profile companies. The recent Staten Island vote to unionize sends a message to Amazon, and others, that business-as-usual may need a makeover if it wants to retain a happy workforce.