Amazon warehouse workers in the Staten Island borough of New York City voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the online retail giant's history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fuelled the union drive.
Votes were still being tabulated, but union supporters secured a wide enough margin to give the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. The votes that were either voided or contested by Amazon or the ALU did not appear to be enough to sway the outcome.
More than 8,300 eligible workers cast their ballots. Amazon provides the list of eligible workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the process. Organizers say a high attrition rate may have shrunk that pool since the election was scheduled.
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As of Thursday evening, more than 1,500 votes had been counted in favour of unionization. A little over 1,100 were opposed.
"To be leading in Day 1 and be up a couple hundred against a trillion-dollar company, this is the best feeling in the world," said Chris Smalls, a fired Amazon employee who has been leading the unionization drive.
'Shocking' result
John Logan, director of labour and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said the early vote counts in New York have been "shocking." The nascent Amazon Labor Union, which is leading the charge on Staten Island, has no backing from an established union and is powered by former and current warehouse workers.
"I don't think that many people thought that the Amazon Labor Union had much of a chance of winning at all," Logan said. "And I think we're likely to see more of those [approaches] going forward."
The victory was an uphill battle for the independent group, which was out-gunned by the deep-pocketed retail giant. Despite that, organizers say, their grassroots approach was more relatable to workers and helped prevail where established unions have failed in the past.
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