Amazon workers in NYC vote to unionize in historic labor win

Amazon JFK8 distribution center union organizer Jason Anthony speaks to media on Friday, April 1, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Amazon workers in Staten Island, N.Y. voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history.

Warehouse workers cast 2,654 votes in favor of a union, giving the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory.

According to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process, 2,131 workers rejected the union bid. The 67 ballots that were challenged by either Amazon or the ALU were not enough to sway the outcome.

The victory was an uphill battle for the ALU, made up of former and current workers who lacked official backing from an established union and were out-gunned by the deep-pocketed retail giant.