Amazon Labor Union votes to ratify Teamsters affiliation

(Reuters) – Amazon Labor Union members have voted to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to a joint statement on Tuesday, the latest sign that unionization efforts were picking up at the e-commerce giant.

ALU, the only union formally representing Amazon.com (NASDAQ:)’s warehouse workers in the United States, had agreed to join Teamsters earlier this month, pending a vote by its members.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Joining forces with Teamsters, a 1.3 million-member group and one of the largest U.S. labor unions, gives the ALU more resources and stronger representation to negotiate contracts with the company.

KEY QUOTE

“The Teamsters and ALU will fight fearlessly to ensure Amazon workers secure the good jobs and safe working conditions they deserve in a union contract,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said.

CONTEXT

ALU won a landmark victory in April 2022 after workers at Amazon’s JFK8 facility in the New York City borough of Staten Island voted to join the union, a first for the company in the United States.

Teamsters, which created an internal Amazon division in 2021, was also instrumental in helping U.S. workers at United Parcel Service (NYSE:) secure a more favorable contract last year.

WHAT’S NEXT

ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1, which will be newly chartered, will represent the roughly 5,500 Amazon warehouse workers at JFK8 and will have jurisdiction for Amazon warehouse workers across New York’s five boroughs, the statement said.