The number of union members has been declining for decades. But suddenly, in the last year or so, the winds have changed. Unionization efforts are underway in technology companies such as apple i Google; media organizations such as The New York Times and Condé Nast; and between undergraduate studentsdistributors and baristas.
Since December, when a Buffalo Starbucks was the first to vote to unionize, employees of 16 Starbucks stores have followed suit. (Yes, they vote one store at a time.) A Starbucks picketer in Denver said, “We’ve had a lot of bullying and a lot of effort to stop. But here we are!”
And more than 200 more have asked to vote.
And then, three weeks ago, there was news that shocked the business world, about the second largest businessman in the United States: JFK8, an Amazon mass store on Staten Island that employs 8,300 people. voted in favor of unionization.
- Staten Island workers form the first union in Amazon history
- Teamsters promise to unionize Amazon “coast to coast”
“It’s Amazon vs. the People, and people have spoken,” organizer Chris Smalls said. “We want to thank Jeff Bezos for going into space, because when he was up there, we were targeting people!”
Correspondent David Pogue asked Smalls, “Weren’t there people who said, ‘Dude, these efforts are never successful’?”
“Of course! I think everyone ruled us out. Not everyone thought we would even get to an election, let alone win.”
CBS News
Smalls, a former Amazon worker, led the union campaign, but that was not his original plan: “I had no intention of unionizing myself. I was just trying to do the right thing and protect people from the death of COVID- 19 “.
By March 2020, it had been organized a march to protest the lack of face masks and other COVID equipment at JFK8. Amazon fired him, and in a leaked note, an executive called him “Not smart or articulate.”
Smalls soon learned that he was not the only unhappy Amazonian. Another Amazon store on Staten Island begins a union vote tomorrow.
Workers Brett, Mat and Martha have been talking to other employees up front. “They take better care of robots than humans,” Brett told Pogue. “They don’t give you enough time to go to the bathroom.”
Martha said, “You have people who barely do enough.”
Mat said, “We want to be able to say, ‘These things need to change,’ and negotiate on a contract.”
Smalls’ strategy for syndicating JFK8 involved a campaign on social media and small basic gestures, all paid for with donations: “We would give them food, you know, pizza, catering food, soul food, different cultural food. This That’s what the union stands for. You know, taking care of each other. “
Amazon fought hard, using the standard playbook against unions. He spent more than $ 4 million on consultants and forced all employees to attend anti-union meetings.
Ruth Milkman, a labor expert and professor at New York City University, explained: “They’ll say, ‘Oh, this organization won’t do anything for you. They will only take your money. And by the way, they can make you go on strike, you may not receive any income during this period. “It can be very intimidating and very effective.”
But not this time. JFK8 voted in favor of unionization.
Pogue said to Smalls, “So I think what you’re saying is that you were successful because you were smart and articulate?”
“Better!” he laughed.
Amazon declined an interview, but told CBS Sunday Morning in a statement: “We don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue to work. Amazon is a great place to work. “
Amazon also questions the validity of the JFK8 vote and notes that it already offers a better-than-average salary and benefits: $ 15 per hour of starting salary and health insurance.
But Ruth Milkman says it’s more than dollars: “Workers want respect. They want to be treated with dignity. And I think you can see that very clearly in the history of Staten Island. They treat them like machines.”
Pogue asked, “How do these workers and unions differ from the old efforts of the union factories?”
“What’s different, I think, is the zeitgeist, especially [among] young workers who have experienced many convulsions, “Milkman replied.” They have these high expectations for what their working life is supposed to be. And then they can’t pay the rent. They could have a lot of student debt. They end up living with their parents. I mean, that’s not what they were promised.
“The pandemic also created a labor shortage, which gave more influence to people and made them less afraid to organize,” he said. “Unions are great for this generation again.”
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For many JFK8 workers, Chris Smalls is definitely great.
One of them happened during our interview and expressed his own opinions about the unionization effort: “**** Amazon!”
“What did he say?” Pogue asked.
“I won’t say that word, but I guess he’s a unionist!” Smalls laughed.
For more information:
- Amazon Workers Union
- amazon.com
- Ruth Milkman, School of Labor and Urban Studies, New York City University
Story produced by Mary Lou Teel. Editor: Joseph Frandino.
See also:
- The man who beat Amazon says he’s just getting started
- In:
- trade union
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