Another Amazon warehouse, this time in New Jersey, has qualified to hold a vote on whether to unionize — just weeks after the first Amazon facility in the United States successfully voted to organize.
Amazon warehouse in New Jersey becomes next to get union vote
A filing shows that 200 employees are expected to be eligible to vote at the small delivery facility. Workers are being organized by the Local 713 International Brotherhood of Trade Unions, the first successful push by that union for a vote at an Amazon warehouse.
Labor experts had predicted that a successful vote to unionize could start cascading efforts at the United States’ second-largest private employer, and union organizers say they are seeing increased interest and outreach from workers. An upstart, independent labor union called the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) made history this month when thousands of workers at the JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island voted to join its union.
The ALU was led by current and former Amazon workers, including fired worker Chris Smalls, who became the face of the movement. The nascent union is now working on its second union vote, at a smaller warehouse on Staten Island. Workers there will begin voting whether to join the union next week.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the New Jersey vote. The company has opposed unionizing at its warehouses — saying in the past that it doesn’t believe forming a union is the “best answer” for employees. It has filed 25 objections to the Staten Island election with federal regulators.
Last year, workers in Bessemer, Ala., voted to reject joining the national Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union by a wide margin in the first such U.S. election. But federal regulators found that Amazon improperly interfered in the election, and they called for a new vote. That redo election took place this year, and the results remain too close to call.
Source: WP
