July 13th 2023.
The National Labor Relations Board has taken a hard stance against Amazon for their refusal to bargain with the union representing their Staten Island warehouse workers. Last year, workers at the JFK8 voted to unionize in order to improve their working conditions, and Amazon was not pleased. They have accused the NLRB of interfering with the unionization drive and Amazon Labor Union of using scare tactics to get workers to support the union.
Amazon has yet to implement a contract for the ALU, which is the only certified union for Amazon workers in the United States. Christian Smalls, the president of ALU, has become a prominent figure in the labor movement and has been praised for his leadership and rebuke of labor practices.
However, some have started to take issue with Smalls' decisions. A group called the A.L.U Democratic Reform Caucus has argued that the union and Smalls have illegally refused to “hold officer elections which should have been scheduled no later than March 2023.” This is because the original constitution promised to hold officer elections no more than 60 days after the NLRB certified their victory against Amazon, but the updated constitution moved the elections until after the union ratified a contract with Amazon.
The conflict has been seen as a costly display of weakness that could hamper the union's chances of getting what they've asked for from Amazon. Bill Fletcher Jr., a mediator brought in to help with communication between the two groups, expressed his concern that the turmoil within the ALU E. Board means that little is being done to organize the workers and prepare for the battle with Amazon.
It remains to be seen how the NLRB's formal complaint against Amazon will play out, and if Amazon will ever agree to bargain with the ALU. The current internal conflicts in the ALU are definitely not helping their cause, and it is possible that the union may never get what they have asked for.
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