Union vote at New York Amazon facility set for late March

Backers of a unionization drive at an Amazon warehouse in New York announced Wednesday they had reached agreement with the e-commerce giant for a union election in late March.

Employees at the JFK8 Amazon Fulfillment Center in Staten Island will vote in person from March 25-30, Christian Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union said on Twitter.

The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees union elections, said in late January that enough workers at the facility supported the drive to justify a vote.

An Amazon spokeswoman said the company remained "skeptical" that there are enough "legitimate signatures" for a vote.

"But since the NLRB has decided the election will proceed, we want our employees to have their voices heard as soon as possible," the Amazon spokeswoman said.

"Our employees have always had a choice of whether or not to join a union, and our focus remains on working directly with our team to make Amazon a great place to work."

Employees at a second Amazon facility on Staten Island, LDJ5, have also filed a petition for a union vote. But the NLRB has yet to certify sufficient union support to warrant an election.

The New York vote comes as Amazon also readies for a re-vote at an Alabama warehouse.

Employees are scheduled to vote for a second time on unionization after a 2021 election in the southern state went overwhelmingly to Amazon.

The results of last year's election were set aside because the NLRB found Amazon "interfered" with the election.

The NLRB has said the new vote will take place by mail, with counting with counting to begin March 28.

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