Amazon union workers and the Teamsters have inked a deal

Amazon Labor Union (ALU) members voted to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters successful a determination they anticipation volition bring caller beingness to a yearslong conflict to unafraid national contracts for Amazon warehouse workers.

Amazon has tried to artifact assorted efforts to unionize crossed antithetic branches of the institution since astatine slightest 2000, but the question to unionize warehouse workers lone gained steam successful the past fewer years. The Teamsters, founded successful 1903, is 1 of the biggest labour unions successful the US.

Employees astatine the Staten Island warehouse, known arsenic JFK8, became the archetypal Amazon workers to vote to unionize in 2022. They inactive don’t person a contract, arsenic the union struggles to get Amazon to the bargaining table. Union members astatine JFK8 approved an affiliation statement with the Teamsters aft 3 days of voting, the groups announced today.

That means that a caller ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1 volition correspond immoderate 5,500 Amazon warehouse workers astatine JFK8. If immoderate different Amazon warehouses successful New York City ballot to unionize, Local 1 would person jurisdiction for their workers arsenic well.

“On behalf of the Amazon Labor Union, I’m arrogant of our members choosing a way to victory. We’re present stronger than ever before,” ALU president Chris Smalls said successful a press release. “Having the enactment of 1.3 cardinal Teamsters to instrumentality connected Amazon gives america tremendous idiosyncratic powerfulness and the opportunities to request amended conditions for our members and, astir importantly, to unafraid a declaration astatine JFK8.”

Amazon workers astatine the company’s biggest US aerial cargo hub, KCVG successful Kentucky, besides voted to affiliate with the Teamsters earlier this month. But truthful far, JFK8 is inactive the lone Amazon warehouse to person successfully voted to unionize.

“The Teamsters acceptable the modular with our statement protecting 340,000 UPS warehouse workers and drivers successful this industry. You tin beryllium definite that we volition clasp Amazon to these aforesaid standards, and not the different mode around,” Teamsters wide president Sean O’Brien said successful the property release.