A union for Amazon warehouse workers elects a new leader in wake of Teamsters affiliation

Workers at Amazon's only unionized warehouse in the U.S. elected new union leaders, according to a vote count completed Tuesday, marking the first major change for the labor group since it established an alliance with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

A slate of candidates headed up by a former Amazon worker named Connor Spence received the most votes cast by employees from the warehouse located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Although turnout was very low, Spence received enough support to lead the Amazon Labor Union as it aims to secure a contract with a company that has resisted those efforts for years.

Spence, a prominent organizer with the union, more recently led a dissident group that sued the union last year to force new leadership election amid internal strife. He was fired by Amazon last year for violating a company policy that forbids workers from accessing company buildings or outdoor work areas when they’re off the clock, a policy critics say is designed to hinder organizing.

Only 5% of the 5,312 workers employed in the warehouse voted by mail-in ballot, said Arthur Schwartz, an attorney who represents the dissident group. Spence received 137 out of 247 votes cast, Schwartz said, defeating a current ALU officer named Claudia Ashterman and another prominent organizer named Michelle Valentin.

“After more than two years of fighting to reform our union to make it more democratic, transparent, and militant, we are relieved to finally be able to turn our attention toward bringing Amazon to the table and winning an incredible contract,” Spence said in a statement.

Workers at the same warehouse voted overwhelmingly last month to affiliate with the Teamsters union, which agreed to provide the Amazon Labor Union, or ALU, with funding and other types of support until it negotiates a contract with Amazon and begins collecting member dues.

The affiliation agreement, a copy of which was reviewed by The Associated Press, says the ALU will be chartered as an “autonomous” local Teamsters union with the right to organize Amazon warehouse workers across New York City. The union branch, known as ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 1, also is expected to help with organizing Amazon warehouse workers elsewhere and to participate in strategy sessions.

“The question is whether the outcome of the election, plus the Teamster affiliation, can create that kind of momentum needed among the rank-and-file,” said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist of labor and labor movements at the City University of New York. “But even if it does, Amazon is going to fight it tooth-and-nail.”

Spence will take over the leadership role from Chris Smalls, a former Amazon worker. He spearheaded the first successful U.S. union organizing effort in the retail giant’s history in 2022, when workers at the Staten Island warehouse voted in favor of ALU representation.

However, organizers inside the union began questioning Smalls' strategy after the group suffered two subsequent election losses in New York and withdrew a petition for a union vote in California. Some left quietly, while others joined the dissident group headed up by Spence.

Smalls did not seek reelection. Instead, he backed a slate of candidates headed up by Ashterman.

Since mail-in ballots were sent to workers in early July, candidates vying for leadership spots had engaged in a fierce campaign during shift breaks and in public areas near the warehouse, formally known as the JFK8 Fulfillment Center. Morning and evening campaigning also took place in front of a bus stop near the facility.

On a recent evening, Spence and some members of the dissident group erected a small tent by the bus stop and handed out heat safety literature and cold bottles of water to workers starting or ending their 10-hour shifts. Other candidates set up a table where they played music or spoke with warehouse workers waiting to go home.

Some workers stood there 45 minutes or longer while watching for a shuttle bus to come, a pain point known to candidates who campaigned on acquiring or fundraising for additional shuttles.

Spence said in an interview earlier this month that joint strategy sessions with the Teamsters would happen once Local 1 has new leaders. But the powerful labor union already began offering support by footing the bill for the Amazon warehouse election and providing legal aid when needed.

Spence said the Teamsters offered him legal support two weeks ago when Amazon called local police to an ALU rally held near the warehouse. During the rally, which some Teamsters organizers attended, officers arrested Spence and six other participants, saying they had blocked a driveway.

Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis said the company had also asked non-employees to leave its property. But organizers say the demonstration was held on a patch of grass they believed to be public property and where they've previously held other rallies.

Since the union's affiliation with the Teamsters, Amazon has made small changes around the warehouse, according to workers. The company, which employs methods to fend off labor unions, has installed gates around the building's parking lot and posted security guards to monitor everyone coming in and out of the lot.

Company spokesperson Paradis says Amazon took those extra steps for safety reasons and to deter trespassing incidents that have occurred in the past few weeks.

Amazon continues to face worker unrest elsewhere, including in Kentucky, where employees at a large company Air Hub held a one-day strike last week in coordination with the Teamsters union. More than 100 contracted Amazon drivers in Chicago’s northern suburbs have been on strike since late June demanding higher pay and better health care plans, according to the Teamsters.

But Amazon also has scored a few wins in the past few weeks.

In mid-July, warehouse workers in Britain narrowly rejected a union bid at a facility in Coventry, a city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of London. If successful, it would have been the first union to ever form at an Amazon warehouse in the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, last week, a Washington state judge ruled in favor of the company in a high-profile worker safety case. Regulators had alleged in the case that Amazon put employees at unnecessary risk of injuries.

In Staten Island, the ALU dissident group has been trying get warehouse workers out of their comfort zones and energized around issues such as heat safety and Juneteenth, for which Amazon doesn’t offer paid time off, Spence said.

He hopes the organizing work eventually will lead to a strike, which he thinks is the only thing that will get Amazon to the negotiating table. But, he also knows one unionized warehouse doesn’t have enough leverage.

“To get them to the table, it has to be a national organizing campaign,” Spence said. “We have to identify strategic choke points, organize those warehouses and go on strike simultaneously.”

Schwartz, the attorney, said the local union's new leaders will be sworn in on Wednesday.