'Stronger than ever': Amazon Labor Union cements alliance with Teamsters

In a near-unanimous vote, members of the grassroots Amazon Labor Union have decided to formally affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as they work to secure a contract at a Staten Island facility that won a historic union election more than two years ago.

The Teamsters announced the result early Tuesday morning after three days of voting. The union said that 98.3% of voting ALU members came down in favor of affiliating with the Teamsters, which has 1.3 million members.

Chris Smalls, president of the ALU, said in a statement that he is proud of his group's members for "choosing a path to victory" and argued the decision would leave the union better-positioned to organize additional Amazon facilities.

"We're now stronger than ever before," said Smalls. "Having the support of 1.3 million Teamsters to take on Amazon gives us tremendous worker power and the opportunities to demand better conditions for our members and, most importantly, to secure a contract at JFK8."

"Workers at Amazon—in the warehouses or behind the wheel—have proven they have the strength, unity, and determination to take on the greediest employer on the planet, and win."

Since emerging victorious at JFK8 in Staten Island—the first-ever Amazon facility in the U.S. to unionize—ALU has fallen short in two consecutive elections at other New York warehouses after Amazon engaged in aggressive and illegal union-busting efforts. Last year, the e-commerce behemoth spent more than $3 million on anti-union consultants.

At JFK8, Amazon has refused to recognize or bargain with the ALU as it continues to contest the results of the 2022 election, drawing a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board last year.

The Washington Post—owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—reported earlier this month that the youth advocacy group Gen-Z for Change has launched an email-writing campaign "aimed at pressuring the federal agency to force Amazon to negotiate with the labor union" at JFK8.

The Teamsters union, meanwhile, told the ALU that it has allocated $8 million toward organizing efforts at Amazon, according toThe New York Times.

"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, New York and will have jurisdiction for Amazon warehouse workers across New York's five boroughs," the Teamsters announced Tuesday.

Sean O'Brien, general president of the Teamsters, said in a statement that "workers at Amazon—in the warehouses or behind the wheel—have proven they have the strength, unity, and determination to take on the greediest employer on the planet, and win."

"Together, with hard work, courage, and conviction, the Teamsters and ALU will fight fearlessly to ensure Amazon workers secure the good jobs and safe working conditions they deserve in a union contract," O'Brien continued. "The Teamsters set the standard with our agreement protecting 340,000 UPS warehouse workers and drivers in this industry. You can be certain that we will hold Amazon to these same standards, and not the other way around."

"As long as Amazon exploits and abuses workers," he added, "this corporate bully will have to answer to the Teamsters and ALU, standing together."