For or against the creation of the first American union at Amazon in nearly 30 years? In the calm, employees of the JFK8 warehouse of Amazon in New York patiently wait their turn to vote under a tent installed in front of the main entrance of the building.
Since 1994, the e-commerce giant, one of the largest employers in the United States, has succeeded in repelling the desires of employees wishing to regroup in the country.
In New York, 5,000 employees of the JFK8 distribution center are called to vote from March 25 to 30, with the counting of votes beginning on March 31. Some 1,500 employees of the warehouse located across the street, called LDJ5, will be able to express themselves from April 25 to 29.
Although almost nothing indicates it, a war is raging in the two Amazon warehouses in this isolated industrial area of Staten Island.
A young man, who leaves the building after working from midnight to 10 am, will tick “yes” to the creation of the union. He refuses to give his name: “Being on your legs for ten hours in a row and having a 30-minute break like last night is useless. That’s why we need the union.”
My god I’ve done this work a long time but this projection action by @amazonlabor = CHILLS. Stakes could not be higher or the fight more righteous. LFG! #ALU pic.twitter.com/RBZDE40YEc
— Rachel Gumpert (@rlgumpert) March 27, 2022
Shared employees
“If the union wins, they will fight for us to have a one hour break, where we can really relax. But a 30 minute break while being up ten hours… it’s really not just!”, he adds, Monday in La Matinale. But the employees are divided.
At the bus stop, Judith sits under three posters promoting ALU, the Amazon Labor Union. She will vote no, just like the dozen of her close colleagues: “Do I have good working conditions? Yes! Believe me, I am well paid. Elsewhere, we are offered 14 to 15 dollars of the hour against just over $18. I only arrived a few months ago and have already had a raise several times. So that’s not bad!”
Judith does not hide it, by text message, postings or messages during mandatory meetings, Amazon does not hesitate to exert pressure on its employees. “They don’t want us to vote. Well, they want us to vote ‘no’! (laughter).” Amazon would have even brandished the risk of losing his job, the ultimate intimidation.
Another attempt in Alabama
Further south in Alabama, more than 6,000 workers at the Bessemer site have until March 25 to return their ballots by mail. Counting is due to begin on March 28 and could take one to two weeks.
>> Read again: Failure to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama
A ballot had already taken place there last year, with a vast majority of voters rejecting the creation of a union. But labor rights agency NLRB said Amazon broke some rules and ordered a new election.
vajo with agencies
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