Amazon Workers in two States vote on Creation of a Union

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Amazon is gearing up for its toughest labor fight yet. Warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, and Bessemer, Alabama, will determine whether or not they want to form a union.

If a majority votes yes at either location, it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in Amazon history.

Rejection would notch another victory for the country's second-largest employer in keeping unions at bay.

Last April, workers in Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against a union bid, providing a bitter defeat for a labor movement that had already been declining in influence but making some gains during the pandemic.

Federal labor officials later scrapped the results and ordered a re-do, ruling Amazon tainted the election process. Ballots for the second election were mailed to 6,100 employees in early February. The tabulation is expected this week.

Meanwhile, Amazon workers in the Staten Island warehouse began in-person voting Friday in their first union election. The facility is one of Amazon's largest in New York City with more than 8,300 employees. Voting will wrap up Wednesday, with the counting expected to begin shortly thereafter.