April 1, 2022
Amazon Unionizes On Staten Island
Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, have voted to unionize. This is the first Amazon Fulfillment Center to do so. The vote was 2,654 for the union to 2,131 against.
Ballots were cast over five days starting last Friday; approximately 8,000 workers were eligible to vote.
The workers will be represented by the Amazon Labor Union, a group formed by Christian Smalls after he was fired from Amazon in March 2020 for ostensibly violating Covid distancing requirements. At that time of his alleged offense, Mr. Smalls was leading an in-house protest at Amazon; the purpose of the protest was to demand more Covid protection (such as distancing) for workers.
September 6, 2021 - LABOR DAY
Labor Day is the appropriate day to post this update, since Amazon's union-blocking efforts need to be revisited. I find their behavior reprehensible.
Regarding my letter of March 21, 2021, to Amazon / Jeff Bezos and the entire Amazon board of directors (that letter is below) : I never received a reply.
Normally successful companies are very concerned about their public image and generally go to great lengths to reply to customer and citizen letters. Amazon apparently didn't feel as though I deserved a response when I wrote them about their (to my mind) unfair labor practices and anti-union activities.
I'm disappointed at this lack of response. This indicates to me that Amazon is not interested in hearing any differences of opinion on their policies, nor are they interested in changing their behavior.
I have not spent any money at Amazon since I wrote that letter, nor do I plan to order anything from them in the future. I refuse to support them in any way, as I feel their approach to organized labor is unfair, self-serving and unnecessary.
I realize my 1-person action here is a mere drop in the bucket that is apparently not worthy of Amazon's attention. However, I hope that my posting of these events will encourage other to consider Amazon's anti-union activities next time they wish to purchase something. I believe that a company like Amazon could be a union-supportive and worker-supportive company and still make plenty of money.
Until they change their behavior, they won't see any of my money.
I'll update this situation as things develop. Go Union! Go Collective Bargaining! Strength in numbers!
This is the letter I sent to Jeff Bezos regarding union organizing at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama:
