“We're making history”: Amazon warehouse employees agree to form the company's first union

Employees at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, voted Friday to unionize, making the initiative

in the history of the trade giant.

A total of 2,654 employees voted to form a union (about 55.5%), giving the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) enough backing for victory.

Another 2,131 workers voted against unionizing, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the process.

The victory was an uphill battle for the independent group, made up of former and newly hired workers who lacked the official backing of an established union and who demand better labor benefits from the multinational.

[Employment continues to rise: 431,000 jobs were created in the US in March]

Tristan Dutchin, who started working at Amazon a year ago, is hopeful that the new union will improve working conditions.

“

,” said Dutchin.

Members of the Staten Island-based Amazon.com Inc distribution center union celebrate after getting the results of the vote to unionize on Friday, April 1, 2022, in New York.Eduardo Munoz Avarez/AP

Approximately 57% of the more than 8,300 employees went to the polls.

“We are about to unionize a multi-million dollar company.

This will be a fantastic time for workers to be surrounded by a better and safer work environment,” the employee said.

A total of 67 ballots were challenged, either by Amazon or ALU, but this did not change the result.

Federal board officials said, however, that the results of the count could not be verified until they process any objections that might be raised by both sides.

They have until April 8 to do so.

We're about to unionize a multi-million dollar company.

This will be a fantastic time for the workers."

Tristan Dutchin amazon worker

Workers hope the success in New York will encourage employees at other facilities around the United States to launch their own union organizing campaigns.

At another Amazon warehouse, also on Staten Island, employees have a separate union election scheduled for late April.

The organizers believe that victory on Friday will make it easier for them to win there as well.

The successful union effort on Staten Island contrasted with the one launched in Bessemer, Alabama by the more established Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union.

Warehouse workers appear to have rejected a union offer, but pending contested ballots could change the outcome.

Most employees are Latino or Black

ALU said it does not have a demographic breakdown of warehouse workers in Staten Island,d and The Associated Press said Amazon declined to provide the information, citing the recent vote.

But internal records leaked to The New York Times, from 2019 onward, show that

at the facility were black or Latino, while most managers were white or Asian.

[Wages are growing but the increase does not reach the soaring rate of inflation]

Amazon workers are demanding longer breaks, paid time off for injured employees, and

a wage of $30 per hour, rather than the minimum of just over $18

per hour offered by the company. In Staten Island, the estimated median wage is $41 an hour, according to an analysis by the US Census Bureau. How has Amazon reacted?

Amazon posted a statement on its company website on Friday saying it was evaluating its options after the election and

.

"We are disappointed with the outcome of the Staten Island election because we believe that having a direct relationship with the company is in the best interest of our employees," the company said.

“We are evaluating our options, including filing objections.

Amazon has long argued that

a union because the company already offers good pay and benefits like health care, 401(k) retirement plans and a prepaid college tuition program to help build workers' careers.

The company carried out a campaign against union members in Staten Island.

The retail giant held mandatory meetings, where workers were told that unions are a bad idea.

The company also

targeting workers and posted signs in English and Spanish at the Staten Island facility urging workers to reject the union.

[California adds signatures for a $18 minimum wage.

What does it mean for the hourly worker?]

In a filing published Thursday, Amazon revealed that it spent about

, which organizers say the retailer routinely solicits to persuade workers not to unionize.

Labor unrest in corporations after the pandemic

The union campaigns come at a time of widespread labor unrest in many corporations.

Workers at more than 140 Starbucks locations across the country, for example, have called for union elections, and several have been successful.

But Amazon has long been considered a jackpot for the labor movement given the company's sheer size and impact.

“We are clearly

.

Something has changed in the labor landscape,” John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, told The Associated Press.

“It is a possible turning point.

We knew unions were going through a moment, but this is much bigger.

There is no bigger prize than hosting Amazon,” she stated.

[The Great Renunciation is burning those who remain.

This is what they can do]

Logan said he didn't think any of the unions, the national or independent labor group, would have a chance with Amazon, but he's even more surprised that a small union would come out on top, given their limited resources.

But the ALU could still have a fight ahead of it, Erin Sutton, a sociology professor at the University at Buffalo in New York, told the agency.

"Bringing Amazon to the negotiating table will be another feat," she said.