(Reuters) – Members of the Amazon Labor Union voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to a joint statement on Tuesday, the latest sign that unionization efforts are underway at the e-commerce giant.
ALU, the only union that officially represents Amazon.com (NASDAQ: ) warehouse workers in the United States, agreed to join the Teamsters earlier this month, pending a vote of its members.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Joining the Teamsters, a group with 1.3 million members and one of the largest labor unions in the US, gives ALU additional resources and powerful representation to negotiate contracts with the company.
KEY QUOTE
“The Teamsters and the ALU will fight fearlessly to ensure Amazon workers secure the good jobs and safe working conditions they deserve in the union contract,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien.
CONTEXT
The ALU won a historic victory in April 2022 after workers at Amazon’s JFK8 facility in the New York City suburb of Staten Island voted to join the union, a first for the company in the United States.
The Teamsters, which created an internal division of Amazon in 2021, also contributed to helping American workers United Parcel Service (NYSE: ) secured a more favorable contract last year.
NEXT
ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1, which will be newly appointed, will represent approximately 5,500 Amazon workers at JFK8 and will have jurisdiction over Amazon workers living in five New York boroughs, the statement said.
