Amazon tries to stave off union drive
Elections in Staten Island, Bessemer to determine whether union will be formed
Amazon is gearing up for its toughest labor fight yet, with two separate union elections coming to a head as soon as this week that could provide further momentum to the recent wave of organizing efforts across the country.
Warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, and Bessemer, Alabama, will determine whether they want to form a union. If a majority votes yes at either location, it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in Amazon history. Rejection would notch another victory for the country’s second-largest employer in keeping unions at bay.
Here’s what the elections will look like in Bessemer and Staten Island:
The voting
Last April, workers in Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against a union bid, providing a bitter defeat for a labor movement that had already been declining in influence but making some gains during the pandemic. Federal labor officials later scrapped the results and ordered a re-do, ruling Amazon tainted the election process.
Ballots for the second election were mailed to 6,100 employees in early February. The counting process is expected to start on Monday and could last for several days.
Meanwhile, Amazon workers in the Staten Island warehouse began inperson voting Friday in their first union election. The facility is one of Amazon’s largest in New York City with more than 8,300 employees. Voting will wrap up Wednesday, with the counting expected to begin shortly thereafter.
Union support
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is once again spearheading the drive at the Alabama facility. More than 150 organizers from the union, as well as from roughly 20 other labor groups were on the ground since last summer – a bigger push than in the first election – to galvanize support. Vaccines made it easier during the ongoing pandemic to knock on workers’ doors and also visit barbershops, stores and other places to distribute flyers and chat with residents.
Pulling off a win could still be tough. There’s high turnover at the facility, making it difficult to build momentum. At the same time, organizers estimate about half of current workers were eligible to vote in the last election, offering the RWDSU a chance to tap new workers who may be more amenable to a union.
In Staten Island, Amazon workers
primary cook in the family, in the kitchen, and she was exposed to Filipino food growing up through her grandmother’s cooking.
Her grandmother didn’t bake much, “so this has been a really cool way to explore more of the sweet side of my Filipino upbringing,” she said.
She’s included some of her parents’ favorite dishes on her menu, like biko, a Filipino rice cake, and bomboloni, which are Italian doughnuts filled with creme.
Bonello said opening her own shop has been her dream since she was a teenager, though she feels “kind of crazy” to be opening a business right now. From worker shortages to supply chain issues, it is a very uncertain time to be in the hospitality industry.
But she has gotten a ton of support from customers, family and friends. She launched a Gofundme last year, which helped her raise over $25,000 from nearly 300 donors.
She wouldn’t have been able to open the bakery without the community’s support, she said.
“This place really only exists because of a supportive community,” she said. “I’m very aware of that and grateful for it.”
On the Northeast Side, Al Aqsa Sweets has launched the soft opening at 1940 Schrock Rd.
Al Aqsa is owned by Fathieh Abdellatif, who started the business out of her Reynoldsburg home with her late husband, Mohammad Abdellatif, over a decade ago.
Al Aqsa’s offerings include traditional Middle Eastern sweets like baklava and petit four cookies. The bakery’s
sweets have been sold in Middle Eastern stores across Greater Columbus, such as Casablanca Market in Hilliard and Salam Market & Bakery on the Northeast Side.
Fathieh said the family couldn’t keep up with all orders they were getting from their house, which inspired the search for a dedicated space for the bakery two years ago. They found the Schrock Road location and signed a lease at the top of the pandemic.
Unfortunately, the pandemic delayed the opening. With the loss of Fathieh’s husband and business partner in September to COVID, reaching the finish line is bittersweet for the family.
Mohammad had picked the name Al Aqsa because it has religious significance
to Muslims, and he was very religious, said Abdellatif’s daughter, Marwa Abdellatif. He also helped start the process of opening the storefront before he passed, and now his wife, son-inlaw, and children are finally seeing 13 years of work culminate into a brickand-mortar location.
“I’m excited for it,” Fathieh Abdellatif said, though she is sad her husband isn’t there to witness it.
“It’s sad without my dad, I’m not gonna lie, but at the same time, this is what my dad wanted for my mom,” added Marwa Abdellatif.
Al Aqsa plans to hold an official grand opening on May 7. tmoorman@dispatch.com @Taijuannichole