Vote tally begins in 2nd Amazon union election in NYC

On Monday, a federal labor board will count the ballots of warehouse workers who voted in a second Amazon union election. It is located on Staten Island.

The National Labour Relations Board supervises the election. They expect to complete the counting of votes Monday evening.

An additional election was held last month that gave the Amazon Labour Union, a new group of organizers, a surprise win. Workers at another Staten Island facility voted for unionization. It was an unprecedented victory for Amazon in the U.S.

It’s not clear if the ALU will be able to replicate its success. This time, there are approximately 1,500 more eligible voters than 8,300. Also, the turnover at the facility remains high. The latest election also saw fewer organizers than the previous one.

Amazon’s aggressive antiunion tactics are still a problem. In the lead-up to the election, Amazon continued to hold mandatory meetings to persuade its workers to reject the union effort, posted anti-union flyers and launched a website urging workers to “vote NO.”

“Right now, the ALU is trying to come between our relationship with you,” a post on the website reads. “They think they can do a better job advocating for you than you are doing for yourself.”

Kelly Nantel, Amazon spokesperson saidIn a statement, its employees said that they can choose whether to join a union. But “as a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees,” Nantel said. “Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”

The possibility of a second labour win could motivate workers at Amazon facilities, and other companies, to pursue similar initiatives. It could also strengthen the ALU’s power and influence.

A union loss could dampen some of the labor celebrations and raise questions about the validity of the first victory.

It’s going to be a hard road for the ALU, regardless of how it ends. Amazon has disputed first election. In a filing to the NLRB, it argued that vote was tainted both by organizers as well as the board’s regional offices in Brooklyn. Although Amazon says it would like a redo election to be held, union experts believe that it is an attempt delay contract negotiations and could reduce organizing momentum.

The final outcome of the separate union election in Bessemer (Alabama) is still uncertain. There are 416 unresolved challenged ballots. In the next few weeks, hearings will be held to examine those ballots.