Amazon Has Illegally Refused to Bargain Over Low Wages and Dangerous Conditions

(STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.) – In the face of years of delays and stall tactics by Amazon, members of the Amazon Labor Union-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (ALU-IBT) Local 1 held a solidarity rally and cookout outside of the e-commerce giant’s JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island to kick off an escalating campaign to force Amazon to come to the table and negotiate a Teamsters contract.

“Our Teamsters brothers and sisters of ALU-IBT Local 1 will not be ignored,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “The Teamsters demand that Amazon set a date to begin bargaining and come to the table prepared to negotiate an industry-leading contract with the thousands of workers who keep their company running.”

In an historic victory two years ago, thousands of Amazon workers at the JFK8 fulfillment center voted to unionize for the first time anywhere in the country. This June, more than 5,500 members of the Amazon Labor Union voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the Teamsters, chartering ALU-IBT Local 1. Despite the will of the workers and these repeated successes, Amazon has so far refused to obey federal government orders to begin contract negotiations with the Teamsters.

“Despite violations of federal law, Amazon doesn’t seem to care about its obligation to bargain with the workers of JFK8 — but we’re done waiting,” said Connor Spence, President of ALU-IBT Local 1. “Amazon continues to abuse workers, but we’re ready to fight back. We have the momentum, we have the solidarity, and we have the power.”

“If it weren’t for the backbreaking work that all of us put in every single day, Amazon would never have become the company that it is today,” said ALU-IBT Local 1 member David-Desyrèe Sherwood. “It is high time that they recognize our worth. We are the ones responsible for Amazon’s success.”

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