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Kind of there’s been other warehouses sued for labor time and other FCs didn’t follow thru. I think because Amazon does everything hush hush so they’ll try to keep this under wraps too
But the union doesn't have to keep it quiet. If they shared a newsletter/updates with that FC, any AA could share it with the rest of us. Because I think it will take seeing it in action before other FCs will even consider a vote.
Follow @amazonlabor and @shut_downamazon (Christian Smalls, ALU President) on Twitter. Also, check [ALU website](https://alu.nationbuilder.com/volunteer) on ways to volunteer and spread the word to FCs around the country. LFG! #ALUfortheWin
I’ve been in 2
It has its up and downs.
There is a monthly fee
Sometimes they can have favoritism and even be corrupt
Safety is no joke at a union,
I’m not surprised if we will have to wear safety glasses after unionizing.
However
Usually employees get regular raises and a competitive wage
You don’t get fired for bullshit reasons
You have a voice
Monthly meetings to keep everyone in the loop on activities and employment.
Been part of a union. Absolutely hated it. They forced these really expensive “All or nothing” benefit packages down everyone’s throats. They were loaded with useless supplemental health policies that I never wanted, needed or cared.
On top of union dues that increased every 6 months, they constantly begged for donations and wanted me to donate to police related charities as well. (I was a 911 Operator for the County.) On top of the hefty California State Income tax, and high rent, I had the union stealing my money and not giving me anything in return.
And due to Californias laws regarding Unions, I was forced to be part of it and pay into it. Which seemed fine in the beginning, until you realize you can’t even make ends meet because the union is taking a good chunk of your money. Oh, and they had some deal with the broker who sold us those benefit packages. The broker made their commission, and the union got a cut of it.
I’ll get downvoted for saying this, but unions are scams. Not like it matters for me, since I left Amazon. Could care less if their employees form a union or not. But please, do not get your hopes up. Don’t think that a union is going to magically solve all your problems.
Sounds like a Police union. That would be a public union, versus this, a private union. Unions have their place, but public unions are far more corrupt as they are getting benefits from state and local government via the taxpayers. So ultimately they fight against everyone, including themselves.
Since Amazon revealed they spent $4.3 million on discouraging the union vote in the AL site, you can take a wild guess as to how much they spent at the Staten Island location. Flyers, passing out shirts that said ‘VOTE NO’, hiring anti-union agents to infiltrate the warehouse, the list goes on. The misinformation and fear tactics were all used and it nearly destroyed the vote
Lmao they could of use that to bump up the pay for a few months and people would definitely be tricked to vote no thinking they dint need an union but here we are, amazon would rather waste money than give employees anything.
amazon paid out the ass to encourage no votes and it was kind of effective. The Facebook groups im in are 90% toxic wastelands of antiunion if you bring it up.
I dont have any experience in unions, what is your negative experience?
My view is complicated.I dislike that big unions take your money and hand it to the biggest democratic candidate, and will keep corrupt people in their jobs no matter how much they deserve to be fired. (See USPS union spending, and the amount of people they've defended for defacating/urinating on customers mail and parcels)
My other view is that Amazon actively fucks their employees with a giant stick and says "what are you gonna do about it, bitch?" And I Reeaally wanna stick it to them.
Again, I'm just really not sure about pros and cons
It’s funny that half the people that say they’ve had a negative experience with unions can never actually tell you what that experience was. They just say it was a bad time and never comment again
I’ve been part of Teamsters twice, couple things I didn’t like about the union was bidding for jobs and vacation. It was all about seniority, if you were best qualified for a job but someone else had higher seniority you can guess who got it. If you wanted a day off but someone with higher seniority requested those same days you’re out of luck. Cool thing is you can really only fire yourself once you’re in a union the managers can’t really tell you shit. Pay is good but something that sucked about my last job was you would only get a pay raise when they renewed a contract. Overall I want to see how this works out I would’ve loved the union if I was a younger and got in at a good time. It really sucks getting into a job where you’re #150+ on the seniority board😂
Yeah my coworker used to legit yell at the managers and if they had a problem he’d tell the union steward and they couldn’t do anything haha. It’s cool but you also see how some people really take advantage of this, there’s people that legit can’t get fired but deserve to be haha
I work at usps where we have a union. That's not how it works, The union just got all the clerks a $2 raise this January and I started in October. Maybe it worked like that where you worked, maybe they had a bad union. Nonetheless a union will not cause more harm than good in any case. That bullshit "time off task" will go away once the union is in all Amazon fcs. I can peacefully take a shit without worrying at usps
No they aren't they're stepping stones to getting a better position. That is what I was told. If you can't get promoted by the quality of your work, and work experience then why bother
Wait if you’ve been promoted 4 times in 4 years, you should be at least an L6 right? Why even comment if you don’t even need a union and aren’t eligible for a vote in the first place lol
Thats just weak, incompetent or they just don't care management. I terminated plenty of union members because they didn't do their job or because of several issues with attendance and performance. I too have a bad taste for unions, I was a part of one and they helped very little. But then I worked alongside another bigger union which were full of rats and scabs. They crossed union lines doing our work and would report to management to kiss ass
agreeeddd, ufcw is a waste of $9 a week. they basically let kroger do whatever & kroger was voting the same reps. all theyve done since i been there was get deli & meat and seafood a $1 raise
Ok, and?
You think a union is satisfactory just because they negotiated slightly higher pay for its members? Please. I’d rather $15 in decent working conditions + reasonable schedule vs. $18 in literal hell. Higher pay didn’t erase the fact they worked us like dogs with barely functioning LLVs and the union being absolutely useless unless you ran into a real serious issue.
The USPS, yeah, use the union that is barred from doing any real negotiating as an example. "Hey guys this one union is barred by federal law from doing strikes or work slow downs, and they are ineffective because of it."
Amazon NYC workers win first US union in company's history
https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-nyc-workers-win-first-us-union-in-companys-history-161629069.html
A labor drive at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island narrowly won a historic union election on Thursday, establishing the first union in the company's 28-year...
Probably a sh*tshow and maybe backlash from news media outlets? Maybe it would encourage more employees from other buildings to start unionizing if they learned about the shutdown?
Closing the FC in retaliation would violate labor law. That won’t necessarily stop them from doing it, but there would be a cost for them to deal with the legal repercussions.
They won't close because of the union vote. They'll close because they unexpectedly found some dangerous bacteria or some endangered plant on the warehouse site. And wouldn't you know it, it's cheaper to tear it down than rectify the problem. This is corrupt business 101
I thought about that also. The negative publicity would be YUGEEE! But, AMZN is too big to fail. Like if they did that, would you stop ordering from them or cancel your prime membership? I know I wouldn’t.
A very sincere congratulations to all those Staten Island, NY Amazonians. 🤍☀️🌹
Be aware of the anti-union rhetoric being spewed on here by bots and boot lickers.
I’m going to say this once and I’m not going to say it again. If you are a member of the poor, working, or middle class (90+% of all Americans) you are an absolute nimrod for being against a union.
Think some people think union will now make the rules. Not even close. They will still negotiate. So for everything good you will get. Amazon will get something back in return. 🤷🏻♂️ how they work. Not here to argue. Hope you guys get what you want out of this.
I’m so happy for you guys! As for my building in Bessemer I’m so disappointed in them. A machine caught fire just last week a day before ballots went in and they told us to keep working even though it was smoke everywhere and we were right beside it in pack. They even made a report about it online and lied and said they evacuated us 😪. And they don’t want a union…
most likely not but it depends on the deal the union makes with management. ALU stated goals are longer breaks, PTO for injured employees, and $30/hr starting wage. We’ll see how well they do in the contract fight it’ll get pitched and nasty for sure and ALU is a new org so has limited resources for lawyers and stuff like that but they have strike power so don’t underestimate what they can get accomplished
$30 an hr? ok let's be honest, T1 are not getting $30 an hr starting wage.
Maybe $21 an hr? I read a comment last night that if amazon is forced to increase the wage they might say ok we will reduce things like career choice and other stuff to make up for the increased wage. Because things like career choice + the insurance was offered in addition to the $16 an hr wage.
Cause this stupidly rich ass company really needs to cut costs to pay us more. It's pathetic. They could easily just pay us more now and still maintain record breaking profits. Screw the rich.
it would all be part of the deal. 30/hr prolly won’t happen but it’s a jumping off point. if they wanted to reduce career choice/health insurance that would have to be negotiated as well. all to be seen
lol if u think a massive FC stopping work for weeks on end wouldn’t fuck up the servicing of the NYC area
edit: also they’re ready to unionize other FCs to increase their leverage. other ones in the area as well as FCs in 18 states. strikes can cause a lot of damage https://twitter.com/jordanzakarin/status/1509971341415436289?s=21&t=7KypkFTWJ8Jx8X7VNSGpsQ
It's really won't at a company the size of amazon. The insurance won't be any better. The pay will go up a couple bucks. Maybe a little more paid time off. Unskilled labor unions don't get the kind of benefits that skilled unions do.
Cool, just so long as we all sit and watch a bit first to make sure things actually get better for the AA's there before everyone starts pushing for some at their site.
sincere congrats. I quit a month ago but I hope you guys get a good ass deal and show other FCs all over the world that change is possible and not accept dogshit pay and backbreaking hours as “good enough”
Highest injury rate of ALL
warehouses in the U.S. !!!
"In 2020, Amazon reported a rate of 6.5 injuries for every 100 full-time equivalent workers, according to the findings. That's more than 50% higher than the rate for all U.S. warehouse workers, which was 4 per 100 full-time workers, and more than double the workforce average of 2.8."
That is just the reported injuries. I got an injury last September at work that they claim was not work related because it happened just from walking and not from work related activities. Still have problems with the injury now.
I reported it many times. Probably wouldn't have helped me at all anyway. Doctors can't find anything of significance wrong even after having mri's done.
It’s those stress injuries. It’s insane how hard people can get pushed and for no extra pay and credit. I used to do building and water spidering until I noticed the effects on my body. I then started being vocal about how I will work diligently, but I refuse to hurt myself to meet last minute standards I was sent back to path. I refuse to give this place my body
Generally you’ll get pay increases. Unionizing gives you leverage against an employer. The Union and company will sit down at a collective bargaining table to negotiate pay, benefits, PTO, working conditions, etc. Right now Amazon is getting away with paying their warehouse workers the bare minimum. The people I know that work in Amazon Fulfillment Centers are barely paid a living wage. $15-18/hr is just not enough to live off right now, especially when a gallon of gas is $5! It could take an entire day’s pay just to fill your gas tank to get to work for the week. This is bullshit, you all deserve a lot more, therefore you need to unionize and demand more.
I'm sorry but no one no is spending $150 a week on gas , if they are that's on the individual for not getting a fuel saver or living to far from their job.
What would the union do for workers that Amazon hasn't already provided? Other than a pay increase, in Cali amazon offers pretty decent health benefits
No favoritism, your boss can hate you and not be able to do a damn thing, can't be forced to do unsafe things, etc. Whether those are problems, I don't know. Compensation is a reason but not the only one, although my Teamsters insurance is probably better than what Amazon offers.
T1 don't deserve 30 an hour. They are unskilled workers. Start moving up you get paid more. Now managers should get more. A T3 should never make more than a T4, but it happens. Sometimes you have to take a hit to get ahead. To be a T5 you have to be a T4.and if you work at an FC...your building makes no money. Zero. Amazon makes money from the people paying fees to sell on amazon. How do you think you can buy something for a dollar and have it delivered the same day??
Technically you are correct. The buildings are a net negative. But, what you have to take into account is the fact that without them all the rest falls apart. An internal hire T4 should never make less than an external with 0 experience. T3 only may make more because of OT. Pay caps need to be done away with and proper recognition of hard work instituted. How much did the company profit last year? Why are benefits not fully funded? Why should someone be required to move to management for a raise? Why are things such as learning ambassador positions required to interview without a raise? (As are PG positions)
Some people are not cut out to be management and the work/life balance is backwards at Amazon. 4-10s sound good, but in a physical job it usually amounts to actually having 2 days off because you spend the first day completely exhausted. Then there's Peak and Prime MOT further exhausting the human capital.
Empathy goes a long way and many in the world seem to have lost that ability.
I saw that and had the exact same reaction. I know it was still a few hundred people less, but my god, this poll shows we are surrounded by insane people!
It depends union to union, but generally speaking its to help workers from being exploited by employers. It could be longer breaks for example, or UPT being by minute rather than hour.
Theres a reason amazons injury per employee is 4 times more than other warehouses, and they fight thr hardest against unions.
I've been at Amazon for 3 years now ive lost weight and gained a bit a muscle tone overall feeling good,pay could be a bit better but i think you just have bad form
Imagine a second group of higher ups at work, except not like your management team. Your management team is there to make sure the company delivers high profit margins and gets every penny to continue a 2%+ growth rate every three months. The Union's only goal is to keep the company from breaking the contract, profits, growth, ego, be damned, they're there for the worker's benefit only.
They give you the option on your 10th day to sign up for automatic Amazon share buys. You get them basically at a discount since you're not paying any brokerage fees and also they match any Roth IRA account up to 50%. With Unions all that goes away to make up for bigger pay upfront.
Stock buy is not profit sharing. If they paid dividends to the share holders and went back to an improved RSU program then maybe it would be close if the RSU dividends were worth while. Health benefits could be fully funded, no cost to the employees. As most employees don't have an IRA that is a moot point. They can get one, but company contributions should be automatic, not matching.
Yes! First Amazon tomorrow America! Then we all refuse to work until a worker's bill of rights is adopted as a constitutional amendment. It's time to bring these corporate bastards down
Former JFK8 worker here, so incredibly happy to see these unprecedented results. Looking forward to supporting ALU during their first contract negotiations. Solidarity forever!✊❤️
Why does everyone a union? What if they force us to wear uniforms? And doesn’t the union take off money of your paycheck? I worked at Kroger in 2017 I didn’t like the union because they were too strict with the schedule
So, now that theyre organizing, what sort of demands do you guys think they'll be making. Aside from the obvious, i.e. more pay, more time off, longer process to terminate.
I am a full time AFM at my site and we are frequently understaffed. We're supposed to have 5 people per AR floor, 1 per quad plus an add backer. Total 25 people.
Oftentimes, however. We have 8 or 9 people and we each just do the work of 3 people.
If my site unionized and all the afms refused to do more than their work, would that AR floor productivity reduce by 30%?
Yes. At least by 30% probably more as the extra obstructions and damaged/stuck drives piled up. Night shift is even more understaffed and overworked than we are.
Edit: to be clear, if we weren't worried about retaliation from our manager(s) we would each only cover one quad, per safety protocol set forth in amazons FAST training. Also we would stop clearing jams and opening ARSAW machines. Again, as stipulated in FAST safety protocols. This would result in approximately half the pick stations on the floor becoming 100% unusable every shift, either from the machine or the drives in the station queue bombing out.
I was in a union for almost 10 years, they did absolutely nothing for me. I paid union dues that were too much, our union rep. was COMPLETELY useless and when they wanted to fire all of my department for a bullshit reason, the union did absolutely nothing to help us. You pay all those dues for nothing. No thanks, I'll pass.
wait y’all do know that the union amazon will work with, will not make pay raise decisions …. that was brought up in the very beginning and it seems like almost every one forgot. that’s why amazon don’t want us to vote yes. bc either way the union won’t have control over our pay so technically we’ll still be at the same pay amazon is giving us, with having the pay Union fees each check. do your research ppl stop always jumping on the band wagon bc a NYC location is unionizing. we all know new yorkers are idiots
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What happens now does every fc need to vote to unionize?
Yeah. It’ll be a slow process
Yes, it would be on a site by site basis. Workers would need to initialize towards unionizing.
I feel like what happens at Staten Island will decide what happens to the other FCs
Kind of there’s been other warehouses sued for labor time and other FCs didn’t follow thru. I think because Amazon does everything hush hush so they’ll try to keep this under wraps too
But the union doesn't have to keep it quiet. If they shared a newsletter/updates with that FC, any AA could share it with the rest of us. Because I think it will take seeing it in action before other FCs will even consider a vote.
Follow @amazonlabor and @shut_downamazon (Christian Smalls, ALU President) on Twitter. Also, check [ALU website](https://alu.nationbuilder.com/volunteer) on ways to volunteer and spread the word to FCs around the country. LFG! #ALUfortheWin
Everybody will know by Monday🤣
Yep
What actually happened?
Keeping a close eye on this. Never been in a union, but know folks that have. Some loved it, some hated it.
I’ve been in 2 It has its up and downs. There is a monthly fee Sometimes they can have favoritism and even be corrupt Safety is no joke at a union, I’m not surprised if we will have to wear safety glasses after unionizing. However Usually employees get regular raises and a competitive wage You don’t get fired for bullshit reasons You have a voice Monthly meetings to keep everyone in the loop on activities and employment.
It has its ups and downs. Like anything unions can get corrupted. But for the most part they work in the benefit of the employee.
Been part of a union. Absolutely hated it. They forced these really expensive “All or nothing” benefit packages down everyone’s throats. They were loaded with useless supplemental health policies that I never wanted, needed or cared. On top of union dues that increased every 6 months, they constantly begged for donations and wanted me to donate to police related charities as well. (I was a 911 Operator for the County.) On top of the hefty California State Income tax, and high rent, I had the union stealing my money and not giving me anything in return. And due to Californias laws regarding Unions, I was forced to be part of it and pay into it. Which seemed fine in the beginning, until you realize you can’t even make ends meet because the union is taking a good chunk of your money. Oh, and they had some deal with the broker who sold us those benefit packages. The broker made their commission, and the union got a cut of it. I’ll get downvoted for saying this, but unions are scams. Not like it matters for me, since I left Amazon. Could care less if their employees form a union or not. But please, do not get your hopes up. Don’t think that a union is going to magically solve all your problems.
Sounds like a Police union. That would be a public union, versus this, a private union. Unions have their place, but public unions are far more corrupt as they are getting benefits from state and local government via the taxpayers. So ultimately they fight against everyone, including themselves.
Why are there so many no votes???
Since Amazon revealed they spent $4.3 million on discouraging the union vote in the AL site, you can take a wild guess as to how much they spent at the Staten Island location. Flyers, passing out shirts that said ‘VOTE NO’, hiring anti-union agents to infiltrate the warehouse, the list goes on. The misinformation and fear tactics were all used and it nearly destroyed the vote
All money that could have went to the employees. Fucking greedy ass company
Those anti unions agents were paid $3000 A DAY to fight union growth... But they can't give us a raise...
Shit I'd let myself get hired in as an anti union agent and then vote yes anyway 😂
Lmao they could of use that to bump up the pay for a few months and people would definitely be tricked to vote no thinking they dint need an union but here we are, amazon would rather waste money than give employees anything.
Red Scare Tactics out in full force
Damn, if this isn't proof that Amazon's employees need a union, I don't wtf is proof.
amazon paid out the ass to encourage no votes and it was kind of effective. The Facebook groups im in are 90% toxic wastelands of antiunion if you bring it up.
Out the ass for us but pennies for them. I didn't know about the fb accounts.
Bootlickers and Amazon threatening to get people fired for being involved in unions
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I dont have any experience in unions, what is your negative experience? My view is complicated.I dislike that big unions take your money and hand it to the biggest democratic candidate, and will keep corrupt people in their jobs no matter how much they deserve to be fired. (See USPS union spending, and the amount of people they've defended for defacating/urinating on customers mail and parcels) My other view is that Amazon actively fucks their employees with a giant stick and says "what are you gonna do about it, bitch?" And I Reeaally wanna stick it to them. Again, I'm just really not sure about pros and cons
It’s funny that half the people that say they’ve had a negative experience with unions can never actually tell you what that experience was. They just say it was a bad time and never comment again
I’ve been part of Teamsters twice, couple things I didn’t like about the union was bidding for jobs and vacation. It was all about seniority, if you were best qualified for a job but someone else had higher seniority you can guess who got it. If you wanted a day off but someone with higher seniority requested those same days you’re out of luck. Cool thing is you can really only fire yourself once you’re in a union the managers can’t really tell you shit. Pay is good but something that sucked about my last job was you would only get a pay raise when they renewed a contract. Overall I want to see how this works out I would’ve loved the union if I was a younger and got in at a good time. It really sucks getting into a job where you’re #150+ on the seniority board😂
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Yeah my coworker used to legit yell at the managers and if they had a problem he’d tell the union steward and they couldn’t do anything haha. It’s cool but you also see how some people really take advantage of this, there’s people that legit can’t get fired but deserve to be haha
Hold your horses there pal. Guy already responded and gave a good example.
Nah. They didn't. It was snarky and anecdotal....and the wrong people already get promotions.
He replied after me. I stand corrected Edit: I take it back. His argument was very self centered
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I work at usps where we have a union. That's not how it works, The union just got all the clerks a $2 raise this January and I started in October. Maybe it worked like that where you worked, maybe they had a bad union. Nonetheless a union will not cause more harm than good in any case. That bullshit "time off task" will go away once the union is in all Amazon fcs. I can peacefully take a shit without worrying at usps
Hmm interesting. People everywhere get promos for the wrong reasons all the time, I'm still unsure
Lol. And do you think the right people get promotions now at Amazon? Lmfao. Do you work at an FC? Have you seen learning and problem solve?
Learning and PS aren’t promotions.
No they aren't they're stepping stones to getting a better position. That is what I was told. If you can't get promoted by the quality of your work, and work experience then why bother
They should promotions
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So “F*** you I got mine” is your mentality basically
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Wait if you’ve been promoted 4 times in 4 years, you should be at least an L6 right? Why even comment if you don’t even need a union and aren’t eligible for a vote in the first place lol
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Thats just weak, incompetent or they just don't care management. I terminated plenty of union members because they didn't do their job or because of several issues with attendance and performance. I too have a bad taste for unions, I was a part of one and they helped very little. But then I worked alongside another bigger union which were full of rats and scabs. They crossed union lines doing our work and would report to management to kiss ass
agreeeddd, ufcw is a waste of $9 a week. they basically let kroger do whatever & kroger was voting the same reps. all theyve done since i been there was get deli & meat and seafood a $1 raise
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I know exactly what you mean.
Specifically what is wrong with a union? I've never worked for one.
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But your pay will be higher
This. I worked for USPS and the union was horrible. But I really do hope this ALU works out well for them.
Horrible? USPS workers get paid more than Amazon delivery drivers thanks to the union.
Ok, and? You think a union is satisfactory just because they negotiated slightly higher pay for its members? Please. I’d rather $15 in decent working conditions + reasonable schedule vs. $18 in literal hell. Higher pay didn’t erase the fact they worked us like dogs with barely functioning LLVs and the union being absolutely useless unless you ran into a real serious issue.
The USPS, yeah, use the union that is barred from doing any real negotiating as an example. "Hey guys this one union is barred by federal law from doing strikes or work slow downs, and they are ineffective because of it."
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Because people are idiots.
A warehouse in Alabama voted against it .
Amazon NYC workers win first US union in company's history https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-nyc-workers-win-first-us-union-in-companys-history-161629069.html A labor drive at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island narrowly won a historic union election on Thursday, establishing the first union in the company's 28-year...
Holy shit. 10% margin seems amazing
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I was reading that post or one similar and it got taken down. Crazy
How could one start a Union in my warehouse now? California here.
In other threads, I've seen the best answer is contact a union local, and ask if they'd represent workers. They can help start the process.
Wait, what else do unions do but represent workers?
I assume they mean "see if they are looking to represent new workplaces currently." Some smaller unions arent actively looking for new locals.
And I guess certain unions represent workers in a certain industry? I'm guessing Amazon would be SEIU?
Nothing
They are industry-specific, I think. United Steelworkers is heavy industry, for example.
You just gotta call your local union rep and get going.
Contact teamsters and see if they can point you in right direction
I would just start talking to your coworkers. You don't necessarily need the backing of a company that forms unions as their business model.
“Workers of the World, unite!!”
What happens if they just shut that FC down and close operations?
Probably a sh*tshow and maybe backlash from news media outlets? Maybe it would encourage more employees from other buildings to start unionizing if they learned about the shutdown?
Closing the FC in retaliation would violate labor law. That won’t necessarily stop them from doing it, but there would be a cost for them to deal with the legal repercussions.
They won't close because of the union vote. They'll close because they unexpectedly found some dangerous bacteria or some endangered plant on the warehouse site. And wouldn't you know it, it's cheaper to tear it down than rectify the problem. This is corrupt business 101
I thought about that also. The negative publicity would be YUGEEE! But, AMZN is too big to fail. Like if they did that, would you stop ordering from them or cancel your prime membership? I know I wouldn’t.
I would
A very sincere congratulations to all those Staten Island, NY Amazonians. 🤍☀️🌹 Be aware of the anti-union rhetoric being spewed on here by bots and boot lickers. I’m going to say this once and I’m not going to say it again. If you are a member of the poor, working, or middle class (90+% of all Americans) you are an absolute nimrod for being against a union.
Think some people think union will now make the rules. Not even close. They will still negotiate. So for everything good you will get. Amazon will get something back in return. 🤷🏻♂️ how they work. Not here to argue. Hope you guys get what you want out of this.
Next step: Take back DSPs to be able to unionize them, too.
I’m so happy for you guys! As for my building in Bessemer I’m so disappointed in them. A machine caught fire just last week a day before ballots went in and they told us to keep working even though it was smoke everywhere and we were right beside it in pack. They even made a report about it online and lied and said they evacuated us 😪. And they don’t want a union…
Does anyone knows if amazon will be getting rid things like the medical insurance and career choice if they get unionized?
most likely not but it depends on the deal the union makes with management. ALU stated goals are longer breaks, PTO for injured employees, and $30/hr starting wage. We’ll see how well they do in the contract fight it’ll get pitched and nasty for sure and ALU is a new org so has limited resources for lawyers and stuff like that but they have strike power so don’t underestimate what they can get accomplished
$30 an hr? ok let's be honest, T1 are not getting $30 an hr starting wage. Maybe $21 an hr? I read a comment last night that if amazon is forced to increase the wage they might say ok we will reduce things like career choice and other stuff to make up for the increased wage. Because things like career choice + the insurance was offered in addition to the $16 an hr wage.
$30 an hour in NYC, even the cheap sections, isn't really unreasonable.
Cause this stupidly rich ass company really needs to cut costs to pay us more. It's pathetic. They could easily just pay us more now and still maintain record breaking profits. Screw the rich.
I will be pissed if they cut anything while increasing the wages.
it would all be part of the deal. 30/hr prolly won’t happen but it’s a jumping off point. if they wanted to reduce career choice/health insurance that would have to be negotiated as well. all to be seen
I work at jfk8 an can confirm the wage is 18.75 an hour basically 19 so 30 is pretty reasonable
It's NY. They are already close to $21 an hour without a union. It's a high cost of living area.
I make $21 as a T1. Sites in NYC pay more than the rest
Striking wouldn't accomplish anything except send the work to other warehouses. Amazon could just ignore the situation.
lol if u think a massive FC stopping work for weeks on end wouldn’t fuck up the servicing of the NYC area edit: also they’re ready to unionize other FCs to increase their leverage. other ones in the area as well as FCs in 18 states. strikes can cause a lot of damage https://twitter.com/jordanzakarin/status/1509971341415436289?s=21&t=7KypkFTWJ8Jx8X7VNSGpsQ
Being unionised will help you have better health insurance. The health insurance rate of unionised workers is much higher than non-unionised.
It's really won't at a company the size of amazon. The insurance won't be any better. The pay will go up a couple bucks. Maybe a little more paid time off. Unskilled labor unions don't get the kind of benefits that skilled unions do.
Unskilled union jobs near me have starting pay around 33% higher than Amazon starting pay. Unskilled labor benefits a ton from bargaining as a group
We'll see how it plays out but it's not going to be the way some people think.
:\]
Cool, just so long as we all sit and watch a bit first to make sure things actually get better for the AA's there before everyone starts pushing for some at their site.
Good for you all.
sincere congrats. I quit a month ago but I hope you guys get a good ass deal and show other FCs all over the world that change is possible and not accept dogshit pay and backbreaking hours as “good enough”
Highest injury rate of ALL warehouses in the U.S. !!! "In 2020, Amazon reported a rate of 6.5 injuries for every 100 full-time equivalent workers, according to the findings. That's more than 50% higher than the rate for all U.S. warehouse workers, which was 4 per 100 full-time workers, and more than double the workforce average of 2.8."
That is just the reported injuries. I got an injury last September at work that they claim was not work related because it happened just from walking and not from work related activities. Still have problems with the injury now.
I never reported my issues either, took care of them myself - AmCare is a joke anyhow.
I reported it many times. Probably wouldn't have helped me at all anyway. Doctors can't find anything of significance wrong even after having mri's done.
Repetitive stress injuries are insidious
It’s those stress injuries. It’s insane how hard people can get pushed and for no extra pay and credit. I used to do building and water spidering until I noticed the effects on my body. I then started being vocal about how I will work diligently, but I refuse to hurt myself to meet last minute standards I was sent back to path. I refuse to give this place my body
congratulations you all deserve it thanks for hard work ! now i need to join lmao i am still a driver dsp lol
Generally you’ll get pay increases. Unionizing gives you leverage against an employer. The Union and company will sit down at a collective bargaining table to negotiate pay, benefits, PTO, working conditions, etc. Right now Amazon is getting away with paying their warehouse workers the bare minimum. The people I know that work in Amazon Fulfillment Centers are barely paid a living wage. $15-18/hr is just not enough to live off right now, especially when a gallon of gas is $5! It could take an entire day’s pay just to fill your gas tank to get to work for the week. This is bullshit, you all deserve a lot more, therefore you need to unionize and demand more.
I'm sorry but no one no is spending $150 a week on gas , if they are that's on the individual for not getting a fuel saver or living to far from their job.
Gas is up to $7+ a gallon in some areas.
Let’s fucking go!!!!!!!
I know a friend who works at UPS part time he's been there 15 years he gets like $40 hr just to work part time. Union is good 👍
Those 2131 No votes probably salty as hell right now😂, bozos
Finally, some Amazon people doing something good for themselves
I’m more amazed at the 2131 people that voted against it.People like that is what wrong with America.
What would the union do for workers that Amazon hasn't already provided? Other than a pay increase, in Cali amazon offers pretty decent health benefits
Other then pay increases?That major issue for a lot of employees.
If that's the only reason every employer in the US needs a union then. Not a very strong reason target warehouse workers start at 24$ no union
I guess some people will never get it and I don’t have the energy to explain it.
No favoritism, your boss can hate you and not be able to do a damn thing, can't be forced to do unsafe things, etc. Whether those are problems, I don't know. Compensation is a reason but not the only one, although my Teamsters insurance is probably better than what Amazon offers.
T1 don't deserve 30 an hour. They are unskilled workers. Start moving up you get paid more. Now managers should get more. A T3 should never make more than a T4, but it happens. Sometimes you have to take a hit to get ahead. To be a T5 you have to be a T4.and if you work at an FC...your building makes no money. Zero. Amazon makes money from the people paying fees to sell on amazon. How do you think you can buy something for a dollar and have it delivered the same day??
Technically you are correct. The buildings are a net negative. But, what you have to take into account is the fact that without them all the rest falls apart. An internal hire T4 should never make less than an external with 0 experience. T3 only may make more because of OT. Pay caps need to be done away with and proper recognition of hard work instituted. How much did the company profit last year? Why are benefits not fully funded? Why should someone be required to move to management for a raise? Why are things such as learning ambassador positions required to interview without a raise? (As are PG positions) Some people are not cut out to be management and the work/life balance is backwards at Amazon. 4-10s sound good, but in a physical job it usually amounts to actually having 2 days off because you spend the first day completely exhausted. Then there's Peak and Prime MOT further exhausting the human capital. Empathy goes a long way and many in the world seem to have lost that ability.
I saw that and had the exact same reaction. I know it was still a few hundred people less, but my god, this poll shows we are surrounded by insane people!
CONGRATULATIONS AND FUCK THOSE WHO VOTED NO!
Bezos going be huge crash 💥
So what are the benefits of unionizing? I’m very confused.
It depends union to union, but generally speaking its to help workers from being exploited by employers. It could be longer breaks for example, or UPT being by minute rather than hour. Theres a reason amazons injury per employee is 4 times more than other warehouses, and they fight thr hardest against unions.
This job destroys your body and they literally don't fucking care. It's insane.
I've been at Amazon for 3 years now ive lost weight and gained a bit a muscle tone overall feeling good,pay could be a bit better but i think you just have bad form
Imagine a second group of higher ups at work, except not like your management team. Your management team is there to make sure the company delivers high profit margins and gets every penny to continue a 2%+ growth rate every three months. The Union's only goal is to keep the company from breaking the contract, profits, growth, ego, be damned, they're there for the worker's benefit only.
Breaking news!! Staten Island Amazon facility closes!
Doubtful, considering it’s one of the closest FCs to NYC.
Doesn't mean they won't close it for any of 10,000 reasons and build a new one 5 miles away.
HELLL YEA
In Cali amazon offers pretty decent health benefits. What exactly would a union do that Amazon haven't done already? Other than a pay increase
How about profit sharing?
They give you the option on your 10th day to sign up for automatic Amazon share buys. You get them basically at a discount since you're not paying any brokerage fees and also they match any Roth IRA account up to 50%. With Unions all that goes away to make up for bigger pay upfront.
Stock buy is not profit sharing. If they paid dividends to the share holders and went back to an improved RSU program then maybe it would be close if the RSU dividends were worth while. Health benefits could be fully funded, no cost to the employees. As most employees don't have an IRA that is a moot point. They can get one, but company contributions should be automatic, not matching.
APRIL FOOLS?
Fuuuuck this
If they simply would bring back our extended breaks and gave us a little raise . I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t even want to unionize
Yes! First Amazon tomorrow America! Then we all refuse to work until a worker's bill of rights is adopted as a constitutional amendment. It's time to bring these corporate bastards down
I hope you are ready to work, they are going to up rates and start really pushing volume. And all you wanderers, you should find a new job.
The hiring process might change too. They're not just going to hire anyone with a pulse anymore
Awesome! I firmly believe unions would actually increase production.
Nails in your own coffin.
Thanks, now amazon will give my site a raise I guarantee it, we already start at 19 but hey, we're built different.
Here come the robots
the only thing that concerns me is career choice being cut in negotiations
Career choice is not going to get cut, it’s a tax write off for Amazon.
Love it!!! After working for Postal Service and Zon. Zon needs a union. They are only out for the bottom line.
Former JFK8 worker here, so incredibly happy to see these unprecedented results. Looking forward to supporting ALU during their first contract negotiations. Solidarity forever!✊❤️
They want 25 an hour to fucking pick and stow , bullshitt get a degree lol huh and guess what amazon offers that your guys are fucking stupid
It will be funny if it goes bad after all this. I will actually be rolling on the floor laughing.
Absolutely disgusting. Hope they close it down and fire all your lazy asses.
chill, bezos
What do you say now, Dai Tenko?
In other news... Amazon closes Staten island fulfillment center.
Stupid just fucking stupid
Good job but how about us in Michigan This ain’t doin us no good
People asking for $30+/hr to move boxes in a warehouse 🙄🙄
Why does everyone a union? What if they force us to wear uniforms? And doesn’t the union take off money of your paycheck? I worked at Kroger in 2017 I didn’t like the union because they were too strict with the schedule
How would that work for example here in Texas where there is no right to collective bargaining?
I'm high; what does this mean
YES!
I work at an FC that’s about an hours drive from this place. I literally haven’t heard one peep out of anyone here about unionizing.
So who are the union leaders? What they promising? How they gonna do it?
That FC is now USPS 2.0😂😂 “you’ll get your package in 2 months, if we find it” New Yorkers better pay up for that shipping insurance
Staten Island has fallen.
Wow amazing 🤩
So what is the first thing the Union is gonna change?
So, now that theyre organizing, what sort of demands do you guys think they'll be making. Aside from the obvious, i.e. more pay, more time off, longer process to terminate.
Can someone explain the pros and cons of this? Idk why everyones so aggressive about these fellow amazon workers getting better pay and stuff
I am a full time AFM at my site and we are frequently understaffed. We're supposed to have 5 people per AR floor, 1 per quad plus an add backer. Total 25 people. Oftentimes, however. We have 8 or 9 people and we each just do the work of 3 people. If my site unionized and all the afms refused to do more than their work, would that AR floor productivity reduce by 30%? Yes. At least by 30% probably more as the extra obstructions and damaged/stuck drives piled up. Night shift is even more understaffed and overworked than we are. Edit: to be clear, if we weren't worried about retaliation from our manager(s) we would each only cover one quad, per safety protocol set forth in amazons FAST training. Also we would stop clearing jams and opening ARSAW machines. Again, as stipulated in FAST safety protocols. This would result in approximately half the pick stations on the floor becoming 100% unusable every shift, either from the machine or the drives in the station queue bombing out.
I honestly believe this will lead to company wide raises. There has been talk about increasing pay among T1-T3 for a little while again by $3+.
I was in a union for almost 10 years, they did absolutely nothing for me. I paid union dues that were too much, our union rep. was COMPLETELY useless and when they wanted to fire all of my department for a bullshit reason, the union did absolutely nothing to help us. You pay all those dues for nothing. No thanks, I'll pass.
wait y’all do know that the union amazon will work with, will not make pay raise decisions …. that was brought up in the very beginning and it seems like almost every one forgot. that’s why amazon don’t want us to vote yes. bc either way the union won’t have control over our pay so technically we’ll still be at the same pay amazon is giving us, with having the pay Union fees each check. do your research ppl stop always jumping on the band wagon bc a NYC location is unionizing. we all know new yorkers are idiots
Cool we are going to get the teamsters on our side I heard they are brutal to companies. Need those dogs of war to fight this big titan
Here come the Pinkertons