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☆ Amazon Labor Union votes to join forces with Teamsters
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, left, speaks next to Christian Smalls, founder of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), during an ALU rally in the Staten Island borough of New York, U.S., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. Members of the Amazon Labor Union, the first group of company workers to organize at a U.S. warehouse, have voted to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the groups said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Roughly 98% of ALU members voted in favor of joining up with the Teamsters, the groups said. The Teamsters is one of the largest labor unions in the U.S., and it has long sought to organize Amazon delivery and warehouse workers. The union launched an Amazon division in 2021 to support and fund workers at the company in their unionization efforts.

Persons: Bernie Sanders, Christian Smalls, ALU, fearlessly, Sean O'Brien, Chris Smalls Organizations: Amazon Labor Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters, Amazon, Brotherhood of Teamsters Locations: Vermont, Staten Island, New York, U.S, Staten Island , New York, York's

☆ Amazon's first U.S. labor union moves to affiliate with Teamsters
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to unionize at the National Labor Relations Board office in Brooklyn, New York, Oct. 25, 2021. The Amazon Labor Union, the first group of company workers to organize at a U.S. warehouse, said Tuesday that it's taken steps to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The ALU originally eschewed major labor unions, establishing itself instead as an independent organization. Aligning with the Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the U.S., could give the ALU additional heft to jumpstart negotiations with Amazon. In March, ALU members voted to hold an election for new union officers.

Persons: it's, Chris Smalls, Smalls, Arthur Schwartz, ALU, Schwartz Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, Amazon Labor Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Amazon, Teamsters, Democratic Reform Caucus Locations: Brooklyn , New York, U.S, Staten Island , New York, Brooklyn, JFK8

☆ Amazon broke federal labor law by calling Staten Island union organizers 'thugs,' interrogating workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, left, speaks next to Christian Smalls, founder of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), during an ALU rally in the Staten Island borough of New York, U.S., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. Amazon and consultants for the company violated federal labor law by interrogating and threatening employees regarding their union activities, and racially disparaging organizers who were seeking to unionize a Staten Island warehouse, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled. In April 2022, employees voted to join the Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots group of current and former workers, becoming the first unionized Amazon facility in the U.S. The judge in New York heard testimony from Amazon employees, managers and labor consultants in virtual hearings that went on for almost a year. Amazon continues to challenge the JFK8 election results, as well as the NLRB and the union's conduct during the drive.

Persons: Bernie Sanders, Christian Smalls, Judge Lauren Esposito, Esposito, Daequan Smith, Bradley Moss, Moss, Smith, Natalie Monarrez, Monarrez, Monarrez . Moss, Chris Smalls, David Zapolsky, Amazon's, Smalls Organizations: Amazon Labor Union, National Labor Relations, NLRB, Amazon, Huffington, Department of Labor, BHM1, Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union Locations: Vermont, Staten Island, New York, U.S, JFK8, unionizing, Bessemer , Alabama, Monarrez

☆ Amazon gets labor board complaint on failure to bargain with NY union
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Chandni Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) was hit with a complaint on Wednesday for refusing to bargain with a New York workers' union, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said. Workers at the facility, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island, voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last year, a first for the company in the United States. However, the e-commerce giant has challenged the results before the labor board, delaying any discussions with the union until the matter is resolved. The company's challenge has already been struck down once by the labor board in January. Amazon has faced dozens of complaints from workers and the ALU as the union attempts to organize warehouses across the country.

Persons: Chris Smalls, Shubham Kalia, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sohini Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, Workers, New, Amazon Labor Union, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Staten Island, United States

☆ Amazon Labor Union's vice president, Derrick Palmer, resigns after assault charges become public
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon Labor Union vice president Derrick Palmer was charged with two counts of assault last year. The ALU has struggled with internal tensions after it led the first successful Amazon union drive. The union's president, Chris Smalls, was seen fighting another employee in December. Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls sent an email to the union members late Monday: "Dear Brothers & Sisters, Amazon Labor Union, Vice President Derrick Palmer has submitted his resignation as Vice President of ALU effective immediately. Due to the matter being before the court the Amazon Labor Union has no comment at this time."

☆ Amazon Labor Union's vice president faces criminal charges over allegations he choked his girlfriend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jack Newsham | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Police bodycam video shows Derrick Palmer, the vice president of the Amazon Labor Union, admitting to strangling his girlfriend. The second-highest-ranking official in the Amazon Labor Union is facing felony charges over claims that he strangled his girlfriend last year, according to police records and body-cam video obtained by Insider. The charges against Palmer are the latest potentially damaging revelation about the leadership of the Amazon Labor Union, the only union to successfully organize an Amazon facility. Palmer, left, and Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls arrive at an Ebony magazine gala in October 2022. Historically, union officers removed under the law have been convicted of fraud, embezzlement, or extortion, Logan said.

Amazon Labor Union's president, Chris Smalls, has registered a new nonprofit. Chris Smalls, the president of Amazon's labor union, has registered a new nonprofit, signaling that he may be turning his attention to projects beyond the unionizing effort that's turned him into a national labor figure. Smalls' leadership of the Amazon Labor Union has been called into question in recent months, amid stalled organizing momentum and election losses at two other facilities. In early December, Smalls was caught on camera fighting a former Amazon Labor Union organizer who had been threatening him after becoming particularly upset about Smalls' growing fame. Although the new group does intend to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation, it also has bigger ambitions beyond Amazon.

☆ Elon Musk dreams of Twitter's AI power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk's personal AI ambitions. Elon Musk was one of the more prominent names on an open letter calling for a pause in AI development. My teammate Asia Martin points out that Musk's position on AI is contradicted by Twitter's investment in generative AI. Twitter's recent purchase of hardware normally used to develop generative AI products shows the extent of this ambition. Read more on Elon Musk's AI ambitions.

☆ Amazon Union President Chris Smalls Seen Fighting Worker in Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

On the night of December 5, the president of the Amazon Labor Union pummeled another union member. Some longtime Amazon Labor Union organizers decided to begin organizing on their own, without Smalls. All three said they believe in Smalls' mission and support the goals of the Amazon Labor Union, but worry about Smalls' ability to lead. Amazon Labor Union members consoled each other after the union lost the vote at its second warehouse, LDJ5, last April. One purpose of the organization appears to be to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation.

☆ A grassroots group took on Amazon and won. Then came the hard part
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Amazon still refuses to recognize the union or come to the bargaining table, dashing the Staten Island workers’ hopes of creating their first contract. Union organizer Christian Smalls (L) celebrates following the April 1, 2022, vote for the unionization of the Amazon Staten Island warehouse in New York. “I told Christian, ‘We have a problem, you need to stop traveling, you need to focus on the workers,’” Goodall told CNN. The company has claimed the independent federal agency tasked with overseeing union elections exerted “inappropriate and undue influence” with the Staten Island effort. An Amazon employee signs a labor union authorization for representation form outside the Amazon LDJ5 fulfillment center in the Staten Island borough of New York, on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.

☆ Here are the companies that have laid off employees this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Tech firms went on a hiring spree. “Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to employees. The crypto brokerage announced in early January that it’s cutting 950 people – almost one in five employees in its workforce. Departments from human resources to the company’s Amazon (AMZN) Stores will be affected. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to employees.

☆ Union membership fell to record low in 2022, Bureau of Labor Statistics says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon Labor Union interim president Chris Smalls celebrates the first union election win at an Amazon warehouse on April 1, 2022, in New York. Union membership in the U.S. dropped to the lowest since the federal government began collecting such data in 1983, according to a report released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency found that the union membership rate fell to 10.1% in 2022, down from 10.3% in 2021. he Bureau of Labor Statistics began measuring the union membership rate in 1983, when it was 20.1% and there were 17.7 million workers. According to the 2022 data, the highest union membership rate was among people who worked in protective service, in education, training and libraries.

☆ Amazon union victory at Staten Island warehouse upheld by federal labor board
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to unionize at the NLRB office in Brooklyn, New York, October 25, 2021. A federal labor agency on Wednesday certified an independent union's landmark victory at Amazon 's Staten Island warehouse and threw out a litany of objections filed by the e-retailer. In April, a majority of the roughly 8,300 workers at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse, known as JFK8, voted to join the Amazon Labor Union, becoming the company's first unionized facility in the U.S. Amazon sought to overturn the results of the election, alleging the National Labor Relations Board office that oversaw the election interfered in the union drive. "As we've said since the beginning, we don't believe this election process was fair, legitimate, or representative of the majority of what our team wants," Nantel said. Workers at a nearby facility on Staten Island rejected unionization in May, and the ALU lost an election at an Albany warehouse in October.

☆ Amazon workers press company on climate change response after Pakistan floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The employees say the aid is a way for Amazon to take greater responsibility for its role in producing the greenhouse emissions that cause climate change. Scientists have said the flooding that killed more than 1,700 people and displaced millions in Pakistan was much more likely to occur because of climate change. And it is attracting some Amazon workers not previously involved in workplace activism. One letter received 8,700 signatures from Amazon employees. “It definitely had an effect on people,” said Eliza Pan, a former program manager at the company who left in 2019 to go work on climate change issues, but is still involved with Amazon Employees for Climate Justice.

☆ Amazon CEO explains thinking behind layoffs as unionized warehouse workers protest outside
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon, more than most tech companies, experienced a staggering pandemic boom as more customers shifted their spending online during the health crisis. Despite the landmark union victory in April, Amazon has so far refused to formally recognize the grassroots worker group known as the Amazon Labor Union, or come to the bargaining table. The company has aggressively pushed back against the workers’ victory through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Jassy also emphasized that the last two Amazon union elections held resulted in workers voting not to unionize, and that Amazon prefers to have a direct relationship with fulfillment center workers rather than going through unions. Labor activist Chris Smalls joins members of the Amazon labor union and others for a protest outside of the New York Times DealBook Summit as Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, will be appearing on November 30, 2022 in New York City.

☆ Amazon workers in California withdraw petition for union vote after defeat in New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Workers at a California Amazon facility withdrew their petition late last week to unionize with the ALU, just days after the labor group failed to win enough votes to unionize an Amazon facility in upstate New York. The move to withdraw comes roughly two weeks after the petition was submitted, per the NLRB’s docket of the case. In an email to CNN Business, ALU President Chris Smalls played down the significance of the withdrawn petition. Since the watershed union win at JFK8, the ALU hasn’t seen success with organizing efforts at other Amazon facilities. Moreover, Amazon has refused to recognize or meet with the union at JFK8 — and continues to challenge the union’s election win.

☆ Why Amazon employees near Albany were divided about joining a union
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Brendan Mcdermid | ReutersFor the past few months, an Amazon warehouse near Albany has hosted the latest labor battle between the retail giant and its workers. Employees at the warehouse near Albany voted overwhelmingly against joining a union, delivering a blow to the Amazon Labor Union, the group behind the Staten Island victory. Following the vote, an Amazon spokesperson said "Amazon as we think that this is the best arrangement for both our employees and customers. Michael Verrastro said he also feels a union is necessary to keep Amazon from unfairly disciplining its workers. "They're a fresh union, and they're trying to tackle something as big as Amazon," Caldwell said.

☆ Amazon workers in Albany, New York, vote against unionization
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Employees at an Amazon warehouse near Albany overwhelmingly rejected a unionization effort on Tuesday, delivering a blow to an upstart labor union seeking to organize workers at the retail giant. Officials said 949 workers at the ALB1 warehouse were eligible to vote on whether they should become part of the Amazon Labor Union. ALU’s victory at JFK8 was a watershed moment for the labor movement, establishing the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the U.S. Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Southern California last week filed a union petition with the hopes of joining the ALU. Amazon workers at facilities in California, Illinois and Georgia recently held walkouts, in time for Amazon’s fall Prime Day discount event, to urge the company to respond to employee concerns around working conditions.

☆ Amazon workers in Albany vote against unionization, labor leader calls it 'sham election'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Employees at an Amazon warehouse near Albany overwhelmingly rejected a unionization effort on Tuesday, delivering a blow to an upstart labor union seeking to organize workers at the retail giant. Officials said 949 workers at the ALB1 warehouse were eligible to vote on whether they should become part of the Amazon Labor Union. ALU's victory at JFK8 was a watershed moment for the labor movement, establishing the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the U.S. Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Southern California last week filed a union petition with the hopes of joining the ALU. Amazon workers at facilities in California, Illinois and Georgia recently held walkouts, in time for Amazon's fall Prime Day discount event, to urge the company to respond to employee concerns around working conditions.

☆ Amazon workers vote against forming union in upstate New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Amazon workers in upstate New York have voted against forming a union, dealing another blow to a grassroots labor group attempting to organize several of the tech giant’s US warehouses. Workers at the facility, called ALB1, were seeking to organize with the Amazon Labor Union, the same grassroots worker group that successfully formed the first-ever union at a US Amazon facility in Staten Island, New York, earlier this year. The Albany vote was the ALU’s third attempt to unionize an Amazon warehouse, after it fell short of securing a union win at a smaller Amazon facility also located in Staten Island. It also comes as Amazon has still not formally recognized the union in Staten Island or come to the bargaining table. But ahead of the Albany vote last week, Smalls appeared to play down the ramifications of the outcome, suggesting the organizing activity itself is a victory.

☆ Amazon Labor Union faces next showdown in upstate New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The next month, that same group, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), fell short at a smaller facility across the street. On Wednesday, workers at an Amazon facility near Albany, New York, will begin voting on whether to join the ALU and become the second unionized Amazon warehouse in the United States. It also comes as Amazon has still not formally recognized the union in Staten Island or come to the bargaining table. Chris Smalls, a leader of the Amazon Labor Union, leads a march of Starbucks and Amazon workers and their allies to the homes of their CEOs to protest union busting on Labor Day, September 5, 2022, in New York City, New York. “I think they have an uphill battle ahead,” Kochan said of the union vote at the ALB1 facility.

☆ Amazon workers at Southern California warehouse file for union election in potential first for the state
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Workers stand in line to cast ballots for a union election at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, U.S. March 25, 2022. Amazon workers at a warehouse in Southern California have filed a petition to form a union with the National Labor Relations Board. Employees at the warehouse, located in Moreno Valley, California, are seeking to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots group of current and former Amazon workers that successfully unionized a Staten Island warehouse, referred to as JFK8, earlier this year. The move adds to a recent upswing of labor organizing among Amazon workers. Workers at a major Amazon air hub in nearby San Bernardino recently held walkouts to demand pay increases and highlight safety concerns.

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