Amazon workers eligible to hold union election at New York warehouse -NLRB
Source: Reuters
By Julia Love
Jan 26 (Reuters) - A group of Amazon.com workers has met the requirements to hold a union election at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board confirmed on Wednesday, paving the way for another high-profile labor battle at the online retailer.
NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado wrote in an email that group of workers, known as the Amazon Labor Union, had "reached a sufficient showing of interest." In order to hold an election supervised by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, unions must show that they have gathered signatures of support from at least 30% of workers who are eligible to vote.
"We are jumping for joy," said Chris Smalls, president of the group and a former employee at the Staten Island warehouse. "We know it’s a long battle ahead of us, but to get over this hump, the show of interest, it’s definitely historic for us."
The Amazon Labor Union, which is not affiliated with a major U.S. union, withdrew its petition in November after the NLRB notified them that they had not collected enough signatures. But on Wednesday afternoon, the NLRB told the group that they had cleared the hurdle, Smalls said.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-workers-meet-requirements-hold-union-election-new-york-warehouse-nlrb-2022-01-26/
