Within the wake of a defeated try and unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, employees are persevering with to struggle to kind and run unions on the tech big on a number of fronts.
In one other Amazon warehouse, in Staten Island, New York, employees have began a recent union organizing drive, whereas airline pilots working for Amazon are nonetheless within the midst of a five-year battle for a brand new union contract.
Chris Smalls labored at Amazon for practically 5 years earlier than he was terminated in March final yr, after organizing a piece stoppage and protests on the Staten Island facility in opposition to the corporate’s lack of security safety for employees through the pandemic.
On the finish of April, Smalls and different former and present Amazon workers at JFK8 warehouse started a union organizing drive. With a tent posted at a bus cease outdoors the warehouse, Smalls and different organizers are searching for to acquire union authorization playing cards from at the least 30% of the warehouse employees to benefit an election underneath the Nationwide Labor Relations Board to kind an unbiased union, the Amazon Labor Union.
“After I do speak to employees, I inform them I used to be fired wrongfully as a result of I attempted to guard employees’ well being and security, and that may occur to you,” mentioned Smalls. “You possibly can complain or submit a grievance, they usually might simply terminate you or goal you to be terminated, or retaliate in opposition to you. And there’s no safety, so the one means we’re going to be protected is by forming that union.”
Amazon has already responded to the union organizing drive, as employees there and at close by supply and sorting facilities have reported receiving texts and emails encouraging employees to not signal the authorization playing cards, claiming doing so will restrict decisions for employees. Televisions within the warehouse and posters in bathrooms have displayed comparable messages.
Smalls mentioned employees have already began to be introduced into conferences with administration to be lectured on the union organizing drive.
“We’ve been getting signatures, and employees in New York have a unique vitality. So we’re optimistic that we cannot solely get to the election vote, however achieve success this time round,” added Smalls.
As Amazon has aggressively opposed unionization efforts at its US warehouses, pilots who work for Amazon contractors are at present the one workers inside the firm’s community with union illustration. However these employees are within the midst of preventing for a brand new union contract in opposition to what they characterize as anti-union opposition from Amazon and their airline contractor.
About 2,000 pilots for Amazon at contractor Atlas Air have been struggling since 2016 to barter a brand new union contract with their employer. The pilots say they’ve confronted low pay, poor working circumstances, and excessive attrition charges.
The pilots’ union, Teamsters Native 2750, declare the contractor has repeatedly purchased out different airways to pressure arbitration over the brand new union contract settlement.
Atlas Air’s main shoppers are Amazon and DHL, although the union has famous many DHL shipments transported by the pilots are additionally Amazon success orders. The airline operates out of a hub in Cincinnati and sometimes transports Amazon freight to warehouses across the US. Amazon can be an investor in Atlas Air.
Bob Kirchner, a Teamsters trustee and a retired Atlas Air pilot, mentioned the airline introduced the acquisition as quickly as contract negotiations started in 2016, and declined totally different proposals from the union to barter the contract outdoors of arbitration. Most just lately, Kirchner famous the airline has used reply briefs to proceed delaying a contract arbitration ruling with the Nationwide Mediation Board.
“They only preserve pushing this down the highway,” mentioned Kirchner. “The very day we began negotiating they introduced the acquisition of Southern Air, they usually mentioned we’re going to amalgamate this and so mainly, arbitration was on the finish of it. There was no likelihood for any sort of significant negotiation if the corporate didn’t need it.”
He criticized how Atlas Air had approached negotiations with the union, as earnings for the corporate have soared through the pandemic from an working loss in 2019 to a revenue of over $360m in 2020. The airline acquired $407m in Cares Act funds and declined requests from the South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn to return the funds.
Atlas Air insists it has acted in good religion.
A pilot for Atlas Air who requested to stay nameless mentioned the airline has suffered excessive attrition charges of pilots earlier than the pandemic, however because of coronavirus shutting down passenger airways and the surge in demand of Amazon’s enterprise, Atlas Air skilled a surge in hiring demand and earnings. However the pilot mentioned Atlas Air had but to barter a contract with the union.
“Our battle is about getting a good deal: having the corporate come to the desk negotiating, working the corporate in a accountable method, updating our work guidelines so we all know what’s anticipated of us and we don’t have to fret about being antagonized or disciplined underneath a punitive atmosphere,” he mentioned.
Amazon didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark. In Could 2019, an Amazon spokesperson blamed either side for contract negotiation points.
Atlas Air blamed the union for the contract negotiation delays, because the union has argued they tried to push again in opposition to compelled arbitration.
“We’ve got been clear and constant about wanting a brand new joint collective bargaining settlement for our pilots and have labored to expedite the method,” mentioned a spokesperson for Atlas Air.
“As we work in the direction of a brand new contract that will increase pay for our pilots, there was a lot misinformation unfold by union leaders in an try to achieve leverage in contract negotiations.”
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