Amazon Workers at Third New York Facility to Vote on Joining Union

The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) — which was able to garner enough votes in April to create the first U.S. union at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York — is now trying to do the same with another Amazon facility near Albany, the capital of New York State.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is overseeing the election, plans to begin counting ballots on October 18, according to a report by AFP.

The NLRB was able to move forward with the election after the ALU collected signatures from more than 30 percent of employees at the facility, the report adds.

“We remain skeptical that there are a sufficient number of legitimate signatures to support the union’s petition for an election, but the NLRB is moving forward,” Amazon spokesman Paul Flaningan said.

“We’ve always said that we want our employees to have their voices heard, and we hope and expect this process allows for that,” Flaningan added.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant has refused to accept the election outcome in the vote regarding the Staten Island site, claiming the results should be tossed out due to alleged improprieties.

The effort to unionize Amazon is being led by ALU president Christian Smalls, a former Amazon employee who told Breitbart News in 2020 that the company founded by Jeff Bezos hid information about a coronavirus outbreak from employees at one of its distribution centers in New York City.

Smalls was fired by Amazon after he blew the whistle on the outbreak at his warehouse and helped organize a walkout to protest the unsafe working conditions at the facility.

The upcoming election involving the warehouse near Albany is the ALU’s third attempt at unionizing an Amazon facility.

In May, the ALU lost its second attempt at trying to create a union at another Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. The NLRB had tallied 380 votes in favor of joining the Amazon Labor Union, and 618 who voted against it.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.