Grassroots labor group takes on Amazon in NYC union fight
Vote counting has begun in a union election, in which an independent group formed by former and current Amazon workers is trying to organize a company warehouse in New York City, a David and Goliath scenario that could lead to the retail giant’s first unionized facility in the U.S.
Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island will determine whether or not they want to form a union. The vote count began Thursday afternoon. It is unclear when the results will be revealed. Counting could potentially carry into Friday.
The count for a separate worker organizing effort began simultaneously Thursday in Alabama, where the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union faces a tough challenge in a re-do election to unionize Amazon workers in the city of Bessemer. The union said that election had a turnout rate of about 39%, with only 2,375 of the nearly 6,100 eligible workers voting through mail-in ballots. Amazon provides the list of eligible workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the process.