Amazon Labor Union, Teamsters take on world’s largest online retailer

It’s official.

The Amazon Labor Union became a unit of the Teamsters union after ALU members cast ballots, with over 98% voting in favor of affiliation. The election concluded on June 17.

The affiliation agreement gives the ALU the exclusive right to organize other New York City area Amazon facilities into the Teamsters union, which has pledged an initial $8 million toward that effort. 

The ALU’s role in Amazon organizing drives outside of Metro New York is defined in the agreement, with a minimum of three members involved in planning and strategy sessions. This essentially affirms the contributions of President Chris Smalls and other ALU leaders in the first unionization victory at an Amazon warehouse, the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, New York.

Workers attempting to organize Amazon’s largest airplane hub, KCVG in Kentucky, have also affiliated with the Teamsters. The union created an Amazon division in 2021.

The near-unanimous vote by Staten Island Amazon workers to affiliate with the Teamsters means from now on organizing drives will have the backing of one of the biggest U.S. unions, with 1.3 million members.

For more: workers.org/2024/06/79144/