Amazon workers file for union election in upstate New York
In order to qualify for a union election, signatures must be collected by 30% of eligible workers at an Amazon facility
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in upstate New York filed a petition on Tuesday for a union election.
The group backed by the grassroots labor group that secured the first-ever union victory of an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., is hoping for a similar outcome.
A spokesperson for the group said the petition was filed for the warehouse known as ALB1, located in the town of Schodack, roughly 10 miles southeast of Albany.
To qualify for a union election, the National Labor Relations Board requires signatures from 30% of eligible voters at a specific facility.
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Amazon warehouse with packages and company logo. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Whether or not workers have reached that threshold will likely be known in the coming weeks.
Paul Flaningan, an Amazon spokesperson, said the company has roughly 1,000 warehouse workers at the Schodack location.
Workers stand in line to cast ballots for a union election at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center, in the Staten Island borough of New York City on March 25, 2022. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid./File Photo / Reuters Photos)
The Amazon Labor Union said there would be roughly 400 employees in the bargaining unit.
Heather Goodall, a warehouse worker and a former insurance agent who’s leading the organizing effort, said in an interview earlier this month that workers had enough support to file for a union petition, but were choosing to delay in order to pick up even more signatures.
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The Amazon Labor Union successfully collected a victory at a Staten Island, New York, warehouse in April.
A supporter holds a sign before the vote count to unionize Amazon workers is announced outside the National Labor Relations Board offices in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Friday, April 1, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Organizers say Amazon has already begun holding meetings with workers in Schodack to discourage them from unionizing. In a statement, it said:
"As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees," Flaningan said. "Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 202.61 | -8.87 | -4.19% |
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Other campaigns have been underway at company warehouses in states like Kentucky and North Carolina as workers attempt to gather enough signatures to petition for their own elections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
