Amazon warehouse workers are set to hold a vote next month to determine whether they should unionize or not. Workers at the JFK8 warehouse on New York's Staten Island will make a choice between March 25 and 30, according to the Amazon union.
The National Labor Relations Board confirmed that the parties had reached the agreed vote agreement. Last month, the agency reported an increase in interest in unionization at the JFK8 warehouse.
In October last year, the Amazon union filed an application for a council vote, but later withdrew the request because the appeal did not get enough signatures. The application was resubmitted in December and signed by more than 2,000 employees at four Staten Island warehouses. In total, 5.5 thousand employees are involved in these facilities. The appeal to the council was preceded by a strike at the JFK8 warehouse.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel writes in an email that the company doubts there will be enough signatures on the workers' petition. However, she said that the voices of Amazon employees should be heard as soon as possible. Nantel stressed that the company's employees have always had the choice to join unions or not.
Last April, workers at the BHM1 warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, held a union vote. Its results showed that the majority of workers voted against the unions, but the Union of Retailers, Wholesalers and Department Stores filed a request with the board to annul the election results, saying that Amazon interfered in the procedure. The date of the second voting was set for February this year.
Last February, streaming platform Twitch began removing Amazon's anti-union ads. The service cited violations of the advertising policy.
Last December, a hurricane caused the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in the US city of Edwardsville. Six employees of the company died as a result of the incident. After that, reports of Amazon employees began to appear in the press, who accused the company of the lack of briefings in case of natural and man-made disasters, as well as of neglecting the safety rules for employees.
That same month, Amazon shareholders asked the company to conduct an independent audit of workers' working conditions. Following them, American legislators announced that Amazon was endangering subordinates. They urged the company to find out the reasons that led to the victims.
bbabo.Net