Employees at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island overwhelmingly rejected a unionization effort on Monday, a significant victory for the e-retailer a month after a nearby fulfillment center became the first in the country to vote to join a union.
The tally was 380 votes in favor of the union and 618 opposed. Officials said 1,633 workers at the LDJ5 warehouse were eligible to vote on whether they should become part of the Amazon Labor Union. Two ballots were voided. The results still need to be formally certified by the National Labor Relations Board.
Seth Goldstein, an attorney who has represented the ALU on a pro bono basis, told CNBC the labor union plans to challenge the outcome of the election.
Amazon is facing a growing wave of labor organization efforts as workers seek higher pay and better treatment at the company’s massive warehouses around the country. In early April, staffers at a Staten Island facility known as JFK8 voted in support of the company’s first U.S. union, despite a high-priced opposition campaign by Amazon.
The ALU called for all LDJ5 workers to receive at least $30 an hour. The average hourly starting pay at U.S. fulfillment centers is $18 an hour, according to Amazon. The union also sought longer breaks and improved benefits, along with other demands.
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