A small group of motivated employees faltered one of the largest multinationals: workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union, a first in the United States within the company.
According to a count broadcast online, 2,654 employees ticked “yes” to be represented by the independent organization Amazon Labor Union (ALU), created almost a year ago, against 2,131 who voted “no”.
When the results were announced, applause rang out in the small crowd gathered for the occasion at the bottom of the building in the Brooklyn district where the counting was organized, noted an AFP journalist.
The name of the union, ALU, is chanted several times. Its president, Christian Smalls, uncorks a bottle of champagne.
“People have spoken today, they want a union,” he said.
A little later in front of the press, he ironically thanked the boss of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, for going to space, “because while he was up there, we were able to set up a union”.
A few slogans resounded: “Power to the workers”, “Workers are worth more than profits”.
Aaron Novik, who works at an Amazon warehouse in Connecticut and supports the movement by regularly creating new posters, was seized with gleeful disbelief.
“How did they do it? I do not know. But people now see that it is possible,” he said, holding a sign “We are not machines, we are human beings”.
A total of 8,325 workers at the JFK8 warehouse, located in the Staten Island district, in a large industrial area, were on the voters list, even if some no longer work at Amazon. Called to vote from March 25 to 30 in a tent set up in front of the warehouse, 4,852 employees slipped a ballot into the ballot box.
“So little chance of winning”
Amazon, one of the largest employers in the United States, had so far succeeded in repelling the desires of employees wishing to regroup for their rights in the country.
“They had so little chance of winning,” observes Rebecca Givan, a specialist in labor movements at Rutgers University.
She was not very optimistic in the run-up to the vote, as the current law on trade unions is particularly favorable to employers.
And ALU, created by a small group of current and former Amazon employees in New York, had little means against a giant having earned more than 30 billion dollars in 2021.
“We may have spent a total of $120,000,” raised through crowdfunding campaigns or T-shirt sales, remarks ALU member Madeline Wesley.
The company, for its part, hired specialized consultants and summoned the employees to several mandatory meetings in the run-up to the election to present to them the disadvantages of a union.
“A lot of people told us that we couldn’t win, that we needed an experienced union,” remarks Mat Cusick. “Many workers will now realize that this is not true and that they can do it. »
The movement began at the start of the pandemic, when a few warehouse workers organized a small demonstration to demand more health protection against COVID-19.
Attempt in Alabama
They then decided to try their luck after the rejection, in the spring of 2021, of a union in an Amazon warehouse further south, in Bessemer, Alabama, where the authorities moreover ordered a new election, believing that Amazon had broken certain rules.
Thursday evening, the “no” led there with 993 ballots, against 875 “yes”, but there remained 416 so-called “disputed” ballots, which will decide the result. A hearing must decide in the coming weeks what will be done with these bulletins.
ALU for its part is already mobilized for its next battle: the LDJ5 sorting center, across the street from the JFK8 warehouse. A vote will take place at the end of the month.
“I’m sure we’ll win there too,” said Christian Smalls, who has spent the last eleven months at the bus stop serving the two buildings talking to employees.
On the decline for several decades, the unions have won several symbolic victories in the United States in recent months, starting with the explicit support of American President Joe Biden. The latter also said he was “happy” with the creation of ALU.
The creation of the first union in a Starbucks directly managed by the chain in the United States in December also generated enthusiasm, employees in more than 160 establishments having since asked for the organization of a vote.