Amazon Files a Grievance Against the Union's Victory in New York, Claiming Collusion

The United States' National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has given Amazon until April 22 to substantiate its opposition to last week's poll in New York, in which Staten Island employees chose to create the company's first union in the United States. Amazon sought more time to provide evidence due to the "substantial" nature of its concerns, the company said in a filing Wednesday.

A verified election outcome would give organized labor a footing in the second biggest private employer in the United States, with the ability to affect how Amazon conducts its finely calibrated business.

Around 55% of employees at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island who participated in the election chose to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), which has requested more compensation and job security. Since then, the union has been approached by employees at an additional 50 Amazon locations in the United States, according to the group's chairman.

Amazon's lawsuit said that company intends to challenge the decision on the grounds that the ALU interfered with workers in line to vote and that extended wait times decreased participation. Approximately 58% of eligible voters voted in person across many days.

Eric Milner, an attorney with the legal firm Simon & Milner who represents the ALU, denounced Amazon's assertions as bogus and said that they will be overturned.

"To assert that the Amazon Labor Union threatened staff is ludicrous," he said. "The Amazon Labor Union is composed entirely of Amazon workers."

Separately, the RWDSU expressed opposition on Thursday to an election in Bessemer, Alabama, in which Amazon employees voted against unionization. It was the second election in Bessemer, after the NLRB's determination that Amazon intervened unfairly in the last election there last year. The most recent results are still pending due to hundreds of contested votes and now the RWDSU's objections, which may prolong the process by months.

"We want our workers' votes to be heard," Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said. "We hope the NLRB considers every legitimate vote."

The RWDSU said in a filing that Amazon unjustly deleted pro-union information from non-work locations and dismissed one employee for speaking out in support of the union during required work sessions. The RWDSU said that these were sufficient reasons for the NLRB to vacate the decision.

Amazon expressed dissatisfaction with the RWDSU's activities, including the union's discussions with employees about the usage of a mailbox on warehouse property, but said that raising objections was regular procedure.

The company will have a difficult time showing that the New York union breached regulations governing employee involvement, according to John Logan, a labor expert at San Francisco State University.

Additionally, the NLRB often takes employer-related claimed breaches more seriously than union-related alleged violations, he said, since businesses wield more authority over employees.

"It's going to be really difficult" for Amazon, he said.