Posts tagged Bessemer
Amazon files motion to close hearing on union victory to the public
June 10, 2022 // Amazon’s lawyers filed a motion to close the hearing, according to a filing provided by ALU attorney Seth Goldstein to The Washington Post. NLRB hearings are typically held in person and open to the public. But Amazon argues in its motion that because the hearing is being held on Zoom, it makes it difficult to know if witnesses who aren’t supposed to be able to observe the proceedings are in attendance, or if the hearing is being recorded and shared with those witnesses. Caroline O'Donovan, Jeff Bezos,
Amazon union vote in NYC could be overturned: NLRB
May 4, 2022 //

Amazon Takes On the National Labor Relations Board
April 27, 2022 // In the 25 official objections Amazon filed with the board, the company argues that the NLRB’s “interference and mismanagement” prevented “a free and fair election” at its Staten Island facility. Among other things, Amazon alleges that the board arbitrarily excluded some workers from the bargaining unit in which the union had to show 30% support to hold a vote. The company also alleges the NLRB let union representatives distribute marijuana to workers in exchange for votes and intimidate workers opposed to collective bargaining. (The union’s lawyer told the Associated Press that the intimidation allegation is “patently absurd” and handing out marijuana “is no different from distributing free T-shirts and it certainly did not act to interfere with the election.”)
How Amazon’s unlikely union reflects the changing face of US labour movement
April 26, 2022 // Professional labour activists will be watching closely as the Amazon Labour Union faces its second test on Monday, as workers at a smaller facility across the street begin casting ballots in their own union election. It is unclear if the grassroots strategies that succeeded the first time — such as connecting over home-cooked meals and bus stop bonfires — will produce the same results at other facilities.
Amazon Workers at New Jersey Facility to Hold Union Election Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/amazon-workers-at-new-jersey-facility-to-hold-union-election Copyright © BloombergQuint
April 20, 2022 // Local 713 brought in revenue of $7.3 million, with $6.1 million in net assets in 2018, the last year non-profit filings were available for the union. Peter Hasho, the union’s president emeritus at the time, was paid more than $1 million a year, according to the filing.
Don’t Expect Unions To Make a Comeback
April 18, 2022 // The biggest problem for unions, it turns out, is that workers are making real progress without them
Biden signals support for Amazon workers’ unionization efforts: ‘Amazon, here we come’
April 8, 2022 // Speaking to thousands of labor leaders in Washington on Wednesday, Biden asserted that "unions are about, in my view, dignity and respect for people who bust their neck," noting that his White House's task force for "Worker Organization and Empowerment" was established "to make sure the choice to join a union belongs to workers alone."
Analysis: Big victory at Amazon gives unions promise – but no end to challenges
April 5, 2022 // At the same time, traditional unions are reaching out to help ALU leader Smalls. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is offering "whatever support we can," said its president, Mary Kay Henry.

Opinion: Amazon Employees Don’t Need a Union
March 25, 2022 // Tight labor markets empower workers more than any union. That’s why it’s unlikely that the 7,500 Amazon workers at the JFK8 plant in Staten Island, New York, who are voting today on whether to join the Amazon Labor Union, will choose to be organized. Voting at Amazon’s LDJ5 plant (also in Staten Island), which employs 1,500 workers, will take place next month.
US unions see unusually promising moment amid wave of victories
March 16, 2022 // Gebre said the nation’s unions should send far more organizers and money to back the union drives at Starbucks and Amazon. “The rest of the labor movement should be willing to lend a hand,” even if they don’t get any of the members, said Gebre, who was recently named Greenpeace’s chief program officer. “That’s what solidarity means.”