Amazon union workers and the Teamsters ink a deal

Amazon Labor Union (ALU) members voted to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in a move they hope will bring new life to a yearslong struggle to secure union contracts for Amazon warehouse workers.

That means that a new ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1 will represent some 5,500 Amazon warehouse workers at JFK8. If any other Amazon warehouses in New York City vote to unionize, Local 1 would have jurisdiction for their workers as well.

“On behalf of the Amazon Labor Union, I’m proud of our members choosing a path to victory. We’re now stronger than ever before,” ALU president Chris Smalls said in a press release. “Having the support of 1.3 million Teamsters to take on Amazon gives us tremendous worker power and the opportunities to demand better conditions for our members and, most importantly, to secure a contract at JFK8.”

Amazon workers at the company’s biggest US air cargo hub, KCVG in Kentucky, also voted to affiliate with the Teamsters earlier this month. But so far, JFK8 is still the only Amazon warehouse to have successfully voted to unionize.

“The Teamsters set the standard with our agreement protecting 340,000 UPS warehouse workers and drivers in this industry. You can be certain that we will hold Amazon to these same standards, and not the other way around,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in the press release.