Amazon: the creation of a second union in New York fails

An Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizer as employees begin voting to unionize a second warehouse in the Staten Island borough of New York, U.S., April 25, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid.

REUTERS - BRENDAN MCDERMID

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The 1,633 employees of a sorting center of the American giant have come out against the creation of a union.

In early April, workers at a nearby warehouse sparked the enthusiasm of the American left by endorsing the creation of Amazon's first union.

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This is a setback for the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), the union of Amazon workers.

Visits from figures from the left wing of the Democratic Party, Alexandria Occasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and even more or less strong encouragement from President Joe Biden were not enough to convince them. 

At 62% (of the 998 votes cast), employees at a Staten Island sorting center in New York decided not to follow the example of their neighbors.

At the beginning of April, the employees of a warehouse located on the other side of their street had created a sensation, recalls our correspondent in Washington,

.

They had spoken out for the creation of the

, which had been trying for years to dissuade its employees from doing so.

In the wake of this first success, the members of ALU claimed to have been contacted by representatives of warehouses all over the country. 

Outside the NLRB offices in Brooklyn where ALU organizers hugged and comforted one another earlier as results for second Amazon warehouse union in Staten Island were announced.

The preliminary count is 380 yes, 618 no.

pic.twitter.com/hfbSCyc7rV

— Catalina Gonella (@catalinagonella) May 2, 2022

Amazon, the second largest employer in the United States after the distribution giant Walmart, has since contested the conditions for organizing this first vote.

The company filed an appeal against this result which it dislikes, considering in particular that members of the ALU had “intimidated” the employees.

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Workers in other companies are still trying to organize themselves.

At Starbucks in particular, employees of more than 250 cafes in the chain have filed a file for the organization of a vote.

More than forty responded positively. 

(And with

AFP

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