Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to join a union at the National Labor Relations Board office in Brooklyn, New York, October 25, 2021.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
The Amazon Workers Union, the first group of company workers to organize at a U.S. warehouse, said Tuesday it has taken steps to join the International Brotherhood of Truck Drivers.
Formed in 2021 as a grassroots group of current and former workers, the American Federation of Labor gained national attention two years ago by winning a landmark union election in Staten Island, New York, at a facility known as JFK8.
The CTU originally avoided major trade unions, establishing itself instead as an independent organisation. But the group struggled to negotiate a contract with it Amazon, which sought to overturn the results of the 2022 elections, and disagreements arose between leader Chris Smalls and members of the UFTU. A group of former members filed a lawsuit against the union last year, accusing it of violating the UCF constitution and asking a Brooklyn court to force it to hold elections for union officials.
Aligning with the Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the United States, could give the ALU additional heft to begin negotiations with Amazon. The Teamsters, formed in 1903, have long sought to organize Amazon warehouse and delivery workers, and created a division at Amazon in 2021 to support and fund the company's workers in their unionization efforts.
In a post on X, the Teamsters said the joining was unanimously approved by the union council on Tuesday. The affiliation agreement is temporary until ALU members and Teamsters vote to ratify it, Smalls said in a text message.
The decision has already sparked opposition from the Democratic Reform Caucus of the TUC, the group that filed a lawsuit against the TUC last year. It's unclear how the ALU would hold a membership vote to certify the Teamsters' affiliation when it “doesn't have a staff list, let alone a membership list,” said Arthur Schwartz, an attorney for the caucus.
In March, members of the Federation of Trade Unions voted in favor of holding elections for new union members. Smalls said he does not plan to run for re-election as ALU president. That election is expected to be held in July in person outside JFK8 Airport, Schwartz said.
The Teamsters declined to comment further. An Amazon spokesperson also declined to comment.
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