Jeff Bezos and Amazon are headed towards a showdown with the Amazon Labor Union, in their attempt to force the corporate giant to unionize its workforce and pay workers $30 per hour. Joining the union at a rally in Staten Island, NYC, on April 27, were the two top leaders of the American progressive democratic movement; US Senator and former Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“What this struggle is about, it’s not just Amazon Staten Island. This is the struggle that is taking place all across this country. Working people are sick and tired of falling further and further behind while billionaires like [Amazon founder Jeff] Bezos becomes much richer,” said Sanders. “What you have done in taking on Amazon and having this facility here in Staten Island, the very first Amazon facility to unionize in the entire country, is an extraordinary achievement. You have taken on one of the most powerful corporations in America.”
All of us as a city need to remember that New York City is a union town. Here in New York, you gotta treat our people right. If you can go to space, you can give our people a bathroom break,” said AOC, referring to Bezos recent trip to space.
Later AOC posted on Facebook, “Amazon Labor Union made history earlier this month as the first Amazon warehouse in America to successfully win a union election at the Staten Island JFK8 facility. Now they’re up for round 2 at LBJ5. The heat is on as Amazon’s multimillion-dollar union busting campaign is ramping up on LBJ5 warehouse workers leading up to their election. When we sat down to listen to workers, we heard shocking stories of worker intimidation, captive audience meetings, warehouse surveillance used on workers and dangerous conditions they face. I heard workers tell me accounts of ambulances being called to their warehouses on a daily basis, workers fainting on the floor and surrounding coworkers being told they couldn’t stop working to check in on them, management threatening workers with firings if they vote YES on unionizing, and warehouse workers foregoing drinking water during long shifts because the facilities are too big to fit in bathroom breaks within the tiny allotted windows (or else risk firing). We also heard about Amazon management lying and spreading rumors about unionizing workers, including leaning into racist tropes and false allegations to defame their character – all to get other workers to be suspicious of each other. But Amazon doesn’t have the alleged 150% turnover a year in these facilities for no reason – the conditions inside these facilities are clearly driving a larger problem that is churning through people faster than they can keep them. Safe working conditions, dignified wages, and basic protections are what Amazon workers are asking for – and we’re here to amplify their call.”
The President of the Amazon Labor Union, Chris Smalls said “You have to have politician support. We have to have the community supporting us, so we couldn’t have asked for anything better than to have Bernie and AOC show up today,”
Amazon workers at the Staten Island warehouse voted to join the union with 55% of the vote. Amazon has disputed those total, and a second vote will occur by the end of the month, with the votes counted on May 2.
Among the other demands from the Amazon Labor Union are paid 30 minute breaks, a one hour lunch break, and better benefits.
