Staten Island Amazon workers to cast union vote in March

Amazon workers on Staten Island will vote on March 25 whether to form a union, the National Labor Relations Board decided on Feb. 16, according to organizers, inching employees one step further in their yearslong battle with the e-commerce giant. The terms of the election have not been determined yet, the workers said.

It was a procedural but significant step after the board in January confirmed that organizers had collected enough signatures to move forward with a vote at the JFK8 Amazon warehouse, one of four on Staten Island’s West Shore.

Organizers expressed relief that the election date was set, but said they were disappointed that it will happen before their proposed date of April 4, which would have given them more time to recruit new members. Employees will vote in person at the facility between March 25 and March 30.

“We’re happy with it. It is a little rushed,” Connor Spence, a JFK8 employee and vice president of membership for the Amazon Labor Union told City & State, adding that the group has multiple active NLRB complaints against Amazon alleging anti-union behavior that it was also hoping to resolve before the election.

If the majority of the approximately 5,000 employees there vote in favor of forming a union, it could inspire unionization efforts underway at other Amazon facilities at a time when workers’ rights have become a pressing issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. A favorable vote would also serve as a victory for the movements against income inequality and the billionaire class, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Amazon has fought the unionization efforts on Staten Island and at other facilities for years. In the lead up to the JFK8 election, employees said the company rebooted its counter campaign there.

Amazon’s strategy has included spreading skepticism among employees about bargaining units. On. Feb. 7, the company resumed its controversial “captive audience” meetings, in which management warned workers about joining a union. “Every Organization Needs Money to Operate … Including Unions,” read a slide shown to workers at JFK8 during the meeting, according to a video shared with City & State. Union organizers were seen protesting when asked to leave the meeting. “This is legally protected collective action … you know that,” an attendee can be heard saying. “We’ll file board charges. Get ready for them,” a second employee wearing a union T-shirt said.

The exchange highlighted what the Staten Island organizers called an emboldened approach to battling Amazon since their first election attempt failed last year. Employees became familiar with Amazon’s “union-busting” tactics during the initial union drive and know what to expect from the company this time around, according to Chris Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union. When the company gave out popcorn a day after the union distributed free pizza, workers took note. “Everything they do is like a reaction to what we’re doing, and I think the workers know that,” Smalls told City & State.

In recent weeks, Amazon-branded flyers that warned employees about “a union and the reality of dues” were posted in warehouse…