US Regulator Confirms Amazon Employees in Staten Island Can Hold Union Vote
Amazon workers in a New York warehouse have met the requirements to hold a union election, according to multiple reports on Wednesday (Jan. 26).
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) confirmed the workers at the Staten Island facility have received at least 30% of workers support, the minimum required to hold a vote. The vote reflects another high-profile labor dispute with the online retail giant.
“We know it’s a long battle ahead of us, but to get over this hump, the show of interest, it’s definitely historic for us,” Chris Smalls, president of the group and a former employee at the Staten Island warehouse, told Reuters.
Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, said the company is skeptical that there are a sufficient number of legitimate signatures.
“Our employees have always had a choice of whether or not to join a union, and as we saw just a few months ago, the vast majority of our team in Staten Island did not support the ALU,” Nantel said in a statement.
A hearing on the election by the NLRB is scheduled for Feb. 16.
New York is not the only battle ground between the workforce and Amazon.
In February, workers at an Alabama warehouse will hold a second vote on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
Last year, Amazon defeated the union effort. But the NLRB called for a second ballot after learning the company interfered in the first contest.
Efforts to protect workers is not unique to the United States
Gig workers in Europe could be reclassified as employees under a new European Union (EU) initiative. If that happens, workers would be entitled to benefits.
See also: EU Gig Workers Could Be Reclassified as Employees
The proposal, which is estimated to cost the sector as much as $5 billion, could require digital platform companies to forfeit some control over workers to make them self-employed.