Amazon workers in New York take the first step in union formation
– Demonstration by Amazon employees in New York in May 2021 © © 2021 AFP
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In New York, employees of the online giant Amazon took the first formal step towards forming a union: They joined forces to form the self-proclaimed Amazon Labor Union (ALU)
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In New York, employees of the online giant Amazon took the first formal step towards forming a union: They joined forces to form the self-proclaimed Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and on Monday (local time) submitted more than 2,000 signatures to the labor rights authority in Brooklyn a vote, as the ALU chairman Christian Smalls said. ALU attorney Eric Milner stated that the minimum of 30 percent of the votes had been reached.
ALU collected the votes in an Amazon warehouse in the New York borough of Staten Island. According to lawyer Milner, the NLRB has now scheduled a hearing for November 15th. Amazon already has an obligation to inform the company’s employees about the required vote, he said. A spokeswoman for Amazon said the company doubted that a sufficient number of legitimate signatures had been collected to justify the election of an employee representative.
The next step in forming a union is to vote in the company, where more than half of the employees would have to vote for it. This was not the case in April at an Amazon logistics center in Bessemer, Alabama, USA.
“This is New York. This is a union town, and we’re going to prove it,” said Smalls. He was fired from Amazon a few months ago and is suing against this and against the conditions for protection against the corona pandemic at the Staten Island plant.
A few days ago, Smalls reported that management was opposed to the formation of a union. “We are facing the same strategies that were used in Bessemer, Alabama.” For example, “outside consultants who specialize in fighting unions” would come to the workplace and anti-union posters would be posted. The ALU demands, among other things, higher wages, safer working conditions and more vacation. Amazon argues the company pays above-average wages and grants.
Amazon is criticized in the USA for the working conditions of its 950,000 employees. Trade unions as well as politicians criticize the fact that employees are exposed to high work pressure and permanent control. In Germany, too, there are repeated strikes and demands for a collective agreement with Amazon.
The online giant profited massively from the closed shops in the corona pandemic. Amazon employs around 1.3 million people worldwide; In 2020, around 500,000 additional people were hired.
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