Organizers lost another attempt to unionize Amazon facilities as employees rejected the concept of collective bargaining.
A Staten Island fulfillment center became the latest to hand pro-union forces a resounding “no” after the National Labor Relations Board reported the measure fell 618 to 380. With 62 percent of a warehouse facility preferring to deal directly with the supervisors, an Amazon spokeswoman said the company is “glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard. We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees.”
The Staten Island fulfillment center became something of a magnet for high-profile pro-union politicians in recent weeks. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders participated in rallies after being inspired by the success of a larger Amazon warehouse that won a majority. However, troubling allegations regarding union tactics have not made their way through the courts.
“Nothing changes we organize!” Amazon Labor Union Pres. Chris Smalls reportedly tweeted. “Do not be discouraged or sad be upset and talk to your coworkers”
Smalls was terminated by the company before organizing and indicated he would continue to unionize the shop despite 62 percent of workers voting against his union. Other advocates expressed a similar sentiment that efforts do not pause because employees reject unionization.
“A second defeat could have proved fatal to the company’s efforts to stop the organizing from spreading like wildfire, just as it has done at Starbucks,” San Francisco State University head of labor studies John Logan reportedly said. “The ALU’s organizing campaign will continue, and that labor activism at Amazon will continue to spread across the country.”
In Bessemer, Alabama, the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union filed a complaint to have a vote set aside after losing a narrow majority. The re-vote closed the gap considerably, 993-875, but more than 400 employee ballots remain contested. Despite sustaining back-to-back losses at two warehouses while winning only one vote in New York, the Teamsters have made waves about organizing warehouse workers and truck drivers.
Newly-minted Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien recently went on the record indicating he plans to bring pressure because Amazon’s presence undermines union pay scales at United Parcel Service and DHL.
“We have a plan to focus on the big metro cities. We need to utilize our best organizers: our worker members who work in these industries,” O’Brien reportedly said. “We have to organize Amazon. We have to have a plan in place. We have to execute that plan and not be scared to change that plan if it doesn’t work at times. Even a world champion team doesn’t win all the time. Hopefully, we will have a favorable win-to-loss ratio.”
Sources: abcnews.com, nypost.com, thegaurdian.com
The Teamsters are like parasites. We need a strong deterrent to keep them from coming back.
Agreed.
Hopefully the workers will understand that the union and the democrats are both liars, thieves and can’t be trusted. They want the $$ to further their support to democrats. A sorry group indeed.
At Randol and jack.
So you two enjoy working for a lot less money and no benefits?
You call teamsters parasites?
You guys are the parasites working for less.
You obviously know nothing about the Teamsters.
Its no free ride.
When billionaires fail to provide a fair and equitable environment for their employees, workers suffer. I’ll guarantee amazon drivers are far less trained, involved in many more accidents, and most are far less concerned about safety than making a buck. Amazon drivers race down my street where kids play, On their cell phones texting, have few if any #’s on vehicles to report dangerous driving, and even then, who would one even call, (most are just independent contractors, which shields folks like Bezos from liability, or caring much. I don’t see this with UPS or USPO much.
Not all unions are good, some union employees are lazy and take advantage of the protection they get, but having little, if any representation from management to better working conditions, can be a dead-end with substandard pay and benefits, (if any).
Guess the gangster, I mean teamsters just don’t understand that the workers DON’T WANT A UNION.
Sorry state of affairs when workers are afraid to better themselves and fall victim to the worlds richest mans BS. Made sure my kids went to college to stay away from dummies like the low class morons posting here.
Meanwhile I’ll keep enjoying my $46,000 Teamster pension (and $27,000 social security retirement) and Teamsters retiree medical while I enjoy my great life.
HaHa!
“Smalls was terminated by the company before organizing and indicated he would continue to unionize the shop despite 62 percent of workers voting against his union. Other advocates expressed a similar sentiment that efforts do not pause because employees reject unionization.”
Doesn’t the union realize that “NO” means “NO”? if this is a display of their lack of intelligence and refusal to hear the employees’ voting, why should they be trusted to do anything FOR the employees? I have never heard any good reason for an employee of Company A to rent their job from any labor union or pay for the privilege of working. I’ve been a driver for almost 40 years and have left companies because the Teamsters crawled in. Most of them decided to leave the union after a few years of reality.
That’s right! Amazon workers need to unionize because the Teamsters NEED YOUR MONEY! They need your DUES to continue to live the “fat cat” lifestyle while living off your sweat. All a Union ever do for me was to fuck up my day. They protect lazy asses and cause workers who care about doing a good job to burn out and say, “f*ck it”. Why should they bust there ass when “you know who” don’t do crap and they get away with it because the Union protects them. As long as Amazon treats their employees fairly, screw the Union!