The nascent group that secured the first-ever union victory of an Amazon warehouse in the U.S. is set to face a crucial test on Tuesday, when votes from yet another election are set to be tallied.
Representatives from the National Labor Relations Board will be counting ballots cast by workers at a facility in the town of Schodack, near Albany, New York. Roughly 800 people are employed at the warehouse, according to Amazon.
This will be the fourth union election at an Amazon warehouse this year, and the third one led by the Amazon Labor Union. The upstart group secured an unexpected win in April at a company warehouse on Staten Island but was stung by a loss shortly thereafter at another facility nearby. A union election in Alabama, led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, remains too close to call.
Amazon has been trying to undo the ALU’s lone victory, filing more than two dozen objections to the election and seeking a redo vote. Last month, a federal labor official concluded the union should be certified as a bargaining representative for the warehouse. Amazon, which hasn’t recognized the union, said it intends to appeal the decision. And CEO Andy Jassy has also signaled the company could take the case to federal court.
ALU organizers say they’re focused on petitioning for more elections and pressuring Amazon to negotiate a contract at the facility that voted to unionize. Experts note a win in Schodack — located near one of the most unionized metro areas in the country, according to Unionstats.com — would offer the group more leverage and a chance to demonstrate its prior win wasn’t a one-off.
