Amazon workers at New York warehouse reject union bid

Amazon workers at a warehouse near Albany overwhelmingly voted against forming a union Tuesday, marking the second loss for organizers in New York after success at a Staten Island facility that voted to be represented by a union earlier this year. 

Four hundred and six workers at the ALB1 facility in Schodack, N.Y, voted against the union bid, defeating the 206 that voted in favor of being represented by the nascent Amazon Labor Union.

It is the third time the Amazon Labor Union, or ALU, took on a challenge against the e-commerce giant. 

In May, workers at a facility in Staten Island voted against unionizing, just a month after workers at a nearby facility voted in favor of their union bid to become the first group represented by the ALU. 

The vote against the union effort comes as workers at Amazon facilities have been ramping up organizing efforts. Last week, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Moreno Valley, Calif., filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union represented by the ALU.

Christian Smalls, president of the ALU, said this “won’t be the end” of the union at the Schodack facility and accused Amazon of mounting a “vicious anti-union campaign.” 

“We’re also feeling both anger and disappointment that the voting process wasn’t free and fair. It was a sham election where workers were subjected to intimidation and retaliation on a daily basis and even the workers who volunteered to be election observers were faced with threats of termination,” Smalls said in a statement.

“The suits at Amazon corporate know that they can’t win without putting their thumb on the scale. This is why Amazon and its little army of outside union busters repeatedly violated the nation’s labor law,” he added.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement, “We’re glad that our team in Albany was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep the direct relationship with Amazon as we think that this is the best arrangement for both our employees and customers.”

The company did not directly address the union’s accusations. 

— Updated at 12:58 p.m.