ALU rally 2021
In an historic step forward for the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of affiliating with the 1.3 million member International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The vote was 98.3% in support of the merger. According to the Teamsters "labor affiliation brings renewed representation and powerful resources to Amazon workers as they organize nationwide and demand a contract from the trillion-dollar global corporation."
Chris Smalls, President of the ALU said of the vote "On behalf of the Amazon Labor Union I’m proud of our members choosing a path to victory, we’re now stronger than ever before!"
"Having the support of 1.5 million strong to take on Amazon gives us tremendous worker power and opportunity to demand better conditions for our members most importantly a contract at JFK8."
In a press release the Teamsters relate that "ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1, which will be newly chartered, will represent the roughly 5,500 Amazon warehouse workers at JFK8 in Staten Island, N.Y., and will have jurisdiction for Amazon warehouse workers across New York’s five boroughs."
"Workers at JFK8 were united, prevailing against an intense union-busting campaign by Amazon that included the company flooding its warehouses with managers pressuring workers to vote no, threatening workers for overseeing ballot boxes, and repeatedly calling the police when workers were being informed of their rights."