Late next month, workers at Amazon’s Staten Island fulfillment center will hold a long-awaited union vote, if all goes according to plan. The in-person election is tentatively set for March 25 through 30, coinciding with the culmination of a mail-in re-vote being held at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse.
Christian Smalls — a former employee of the JFK8 warehouse in the New York borough and current president of the Amazon Labor Union organization — acknowledged that Amazon had reached an agree with the National Labor Relations Board for the election. The company confirmed the process with employees via text message, while encouraging them to vote “no” more than month in advance.
It’s the beginning for what is certain to be an aggressive anti-unionizing push for the retail giant. Amazon employed aggressive tactics in the lead up to last April’s election. Ultimately, factors like an on-site mail box and “vote no” signage were enough to affirm the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union’s objections and force the aforementioned follow-up election. The Staten Island election is the culmination of JKF8 employees’ own long-time push.
