Amazon workers in the US win the tech giant’s pulse

Workers Amazon Factory in New York beat beat tech giant After months of struggle, they succeeded in creating it on Friday The first union in the United States The company that tried by all means to thwart any initiative of union organizing.

It is about extension JFK Factory 8in the area Staten Islandwhose workers celebrated with a cryif possibleWinning the ballot.

“We worked, had fun and made history. Welcome to the first Amazon Consortium in the United States’ wrote the guild leader Christian Smalls, On his Twitter account, minutes before opening a bottle of champagne with workers in the facilities, where about 6000 people work.

Total, 2,654 employees spoke in favor of the organizationCompared to 2,131 opposed to the vote, its results will have to be confirmed by the National Labor Relations Board.

The union wrote on its official website: “It’s official, the Amazon Workers’ Union (ALU) is the first Amazon union in US history. Power to the people!”

Amazon It is the second largest employer in the United States, after the chain Walmart supermarketsAnd since the beginning of the epidemic, its activity and profits have escalated dramatically, and it has hired tens of thousands of new workers.

Union struggle prompted by the epidemic

Epidemic outbreak in 2020 Motivated the morale of many Amazon workers in the United States And other large companies in the state, such as Starbucks coffee chainwho denounced the employers’ failure to take the necessary measures to protect them from COVID-19.

last december, A small group of workers in the giant cafeteria The restaurateur in Buffalo, New York, voted to create the chain’s first consortium.

since then, More than a hundred Starbucks coffee shops They followed in Buffalo’s footsteps and petitioned to try to organize.

The Amazon Workers Union It was founded by Smalls after he was fired in March 2020 for organizing a strike to denounce the lack of protection for workers in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, while he was a supervisor at the distribution center.

However, the company claimed that he was fired for skipping security protocols By coming to the facility despite being asked to self-quarantine after exposure to the coronavirus.

Amazon strategy

The company founded by a billionaire Jeff Bezos Invest a lot of effort and money To prevent your workers from uniting with one voice To negotiate a collective agreement, which would be the next step, once the union was formally formed.

For years, its managers They were able to thwart any attempt through pressure, harassment and media campaigns against the labor movement.

Recently, they covered the facilities Staten Island with signs that say,vote no“But in addition to this, the company has launched a website geared in this regard.

The intent of the page He turned the employees against the idea of ​​unionswhich asserts that the union isexternal group“which even represents”Those who do not vote“Favor.

About the union Smalls founded, Amazon assert that “He has no experience“what or what”He never negotiated a union contract“that”He never managed the millions of dollars he’d be getting from his paychecksFrom company employees.

like the other big companies Unlike any kind of trade union organisation, Amazon He emphasized that, presumably, it is better to maintain direct contact between the company and the worker through third parties.

Another big union fight in Alabama

In parallel with Efforts by New York employees, Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer (Alabama) voted this week, for the second year in a row, to form a union.

The US National Labor Relations Council. It stated that 993 of the votes cast were against the creation of the union and only 875 were in favour. However, there are still 416 questionable ballot papers Or by the company or by union promoters, so the US labor authority will have to hold a hearing to decide whether or not to count them.

last year, Bessemer warehouse staffjust outside Birmingham, organized a similar process in which the union’s refusal was also enforced, But its result was invalidated by the authorities due to violations committed by the company.