Amazon union elections in Albany will begin in October
Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to incorporate at the NLRB office in Brooklyn, New York, October 25, 2021.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Amazon The company confirmed to CNBC it will face a union election at one of its warehouses in upstate New York next month.
Employees at the warehouse, located in the town of Schodack, southeast of Albany, New York, will cast their ballots between October 12 and 17, Amazon said.
A group of workers at the facility, known as ALB1, last month filed a request for a union vote. They are seeking to be represented by the Amazon Labor Federation, a grassroots group of current and former employees successful merger one of Amazon’s Staten Island warehouses, called JFK8.
The National Labor Relations Board in late August identified employees who had met the requirements to hold a union election at the Albany warehouse. Unions are eligible to hold elections after they have collected signatures of support from at least 30% of workers.
Amazon spokesman Paul Flaningan said the company remains skeptical that there are enough “legitimate signatures” to lead to an election, but it supports the right of employees “to have their voices heard”. and we hope and expect this process to allow for that.”
Coalition organizer Heather Goodall confirmed an election will be held at the facility next month. Kayla Blado, a spokeswoman for the NLRB, said an election date has not yet been set by the regional office.
The election in Albany will test whether the ALU can repeat its victory on Staten Island. ALU face to face an early setback in May when workers at a nearby facility refused to join the union.
In recent months, the ALU has been locked in legal disputes with Amazon over the outcome of the JFK8 vote. Amazon has argued that the results should be dropped, accusing the union and the NLRB of engaging in misconduct that influenced the election process.
Earlier this month, an NLRB . official encourage Amazon’s objection should be dismissed and the outcome upheld. Amazon has until Friday to appeal the official’s recommendations.
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