The leaders, Christian Smalls and Mr. Palmer, met with the heads of main labor unions, who vowed sources and help. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont unbiased, and Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, rallied in entrance of LDJ5 on April 24, the day earlier than voting started.
At JFK8, staff typically have 10-hour shifts, if not longer, 4 days per week, however at LDJ5, many work half time. The dearth of full-time work has develop into a standard grievance, notably because the location on Staten Island typically requires lengthy commutes.
However part-time staff are sometimes tougher to arrange as a result of they work together much less and have decrease total funding of their office. At Amazon, part-time staff don’t get well being care, however they do have entry to different advantages, like 401(okay) matching, that aren’t sometimes related at different part-time jobs.
Micheal Aguilar, an worker on the facility who was energetic in supporting the union, mentioned a number of co-workers he had gotten to know personally had confided that they voted no.
“A few of them are younger — I don’t assume they even know what a union is,” Mr. Aguilar mentioned, including: “I imagine they thought Amazon was only a steppingstone, after which accumulate cash from this place after which go into their very own careers. They didn’t perceive why they’d need it if it’s simply short-term to them.”
The union pressed for the vote even if lots of its high officers and organizers work at JFK8 relatively than the smaller facility, giving the group a weaker presence inside. Organizers tried to counter this within the weeks earlier than the voting by often spending a number of hours speaking to staff outdoors LDJ5 after their shifts, however they conceded they didn’t have the identical relationship with staff there.
