Workers at Amazon’s LDJ-5 facility on Staten Island have voted against joining the newly formed Amazon Labor Union (ALU), according to multiple reports. The outcome is a win for Amazon and a blow to the ALU, which last month secured a union victory at JFK-8, just across the street from LDJ-5.
The vote at LDJ-5 began last Monday and continued throughout the week. The National Labor Relations Board, which presided over both Staten Island union votes, finished tallying the votes on Monday afternoon, reporting 618 votes against unionization and 380 in favor. Among 1,500 eligible voters, a total of 998 votes were cast for a turnout rate of about 66%.
“We’re glad that our team at LDJ-5 were able to have their voices heard. We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees.,” Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for Amazon, told Modern Shipper in an email.
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Had the workers of LDJ-5 swung the other direction, the facility would have been just the second in Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) 28-year history to vote in favor of a union after JFK-8, the other Staten Island warehouse. But given how past Amazon union votes have shaken out, the process is likely not over quite yet.
When a third Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, held its own union vote in April 2021, the NLRB ordered Amazon to hold a revote. Pro-union Amazon workers backed by the Resale, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) lost the initial vote heavily. But afterward, the RWDSU filed objections with the NLRB, which the board felt held water.
In a revote this past March, workers at the Bessemer facility again rejected joining the union. But while anti-union voters outnumbered pro-union voters two-to-one the first time around, the outcome of the second vote was much closer. A little over 100 votes — out of 2,375 ballots cast — separated the two sides in the revote.
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Still, that outcome was a win for Amazon, which has shown that it’s willing to fight union organizers tooth and nail. Just this Monday, the e-commerce giant was awarded a hearing to share evidence of its objections to the vote at JFK-8. According to an NLRB filing, the evidence could be sufficient to overturn the historic vote.
The vote at LDJ-5, meanwhile, is still awaiting a formal certification by the NLRB. But given the board’s past willingness to investigate objections from both Amazon and union organizers, it is unlikely that the result will be finalized this week.
The ALU did not immediately respond to Modern Shipper’s request for comment.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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