Amazon fails to overturn Staten Island warehouse’s vote to unionize

Amazon has failed to convince Cornele Overstreet, a regional director with the National Labor Relations Board, to overturn JFK8 workers’ vote in favor of unionization. If you’ll recall, the JFK8 facility in Staten Island became the first unionized Amazon warehouse after workers voted 2,350-1,912 in favor of joining a union back in April 2022. Amazon said at the time that it was “disappointed” with the result and challenged the vote, alleging “inappropriate and undue influence” from the NLRB. The Wall Street Journal says the e-retailer also accused Amazon Labor Union organizers of threatening employees to vote in favor of unionization. 

Overstreet, however, has ruled that the company was unable to present sufficient proof of inappropriate conduct to overturn the election’s results. He agreed with the labor board hearing officer who recommended in September that JFK8’s union vote should be upheld. In a tweet, ALU president Christian Smalls celebrated being “certified by Region 28 NLRB.” He added that the union “beat [Amazon] fair and square” and tagged Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, asking him to “come to the table” so they could sign a contract. 

As The Journal notes, ALU previously said that Amazon’s appeal was a stalling tactic to delay negotiations for workers’ demands. And it sounds like the company doesn’t intend to back down: An Amazon spokesperson said the e-commerce giant will appeal again and take the case to the NLRB’s board in Washington. As CNBC reports, Jassy previously said that the case “has a real chance to end up in federal court,” because it’s “probably unlikely the NLRB is going to rule against itself.”