Amazon workers in upstate New York overwhelmingly rejected a union bid, handing a second defeat to the labor group that's been attempting to drag the company to the negotiating table since its historic win earlier this year.
This time around, warehouse workers near Albany cast 406 votes — or about 66% — against the Amazon Labor Union, giving the company enough support to push back the fledgling group composed of former and current Amazon workers.
Experts had noted a win there would have given the union more leverage in its quest to negotiate a contract with Amazon and a chance to demonstrate its prior win at a facility on Staten Island, New York wasn't a one-off. For now, those hopes seem to be dashed. "This won't be the end of ALU at ALB1," Smalls said, using the official name for the warehouse. He noted organizers were feeling"both anger and disappointment," saying"the voting process wasn't free and fair" and accusing the company of"putting their thumb on the scale."
During the campaign, the union filed more than two dozen charges with the NLRB accusing the company of unfair labor practices that damaged its ability to organize. Still, Smalls noted they were going to continue their campaign to unionize Amazon warehouses.This was the fourth union election at an Amazon warehouse this year, and the third one led by the ALU. Following their unexpected win in April in Staten Island,.