By Doyinsola Oladipo and Nivedita Balu
(Reuters) – Organized labor supporters at an Amazon.com facility in New York City’s Staten Island maintained the lead in a contest to form a union as U.S. regulators continued to tally votes on Friday.
When voting concluded for the day on Thursday, those workers who favored establishing the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) at the fulfillment center known as JFK8 maintained a 57-percent edge over those who voted against organizing.
The tally, which so far stands at 1,742 to 1,300 in favor of forming a union is expected to conclude Friday, according to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB is overseeing the election.
A victory for organized labor at the second-largest U.S. private employer would be a historic first for the retailing behemoth in the United States and a milestone for labor advocates, who for years have considered Amazon’s labor practices a threat to workers.
When voting concluded for the day on Thursday, those workers who favored establishing the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) at the fulfillment center known as JFK8 maintained a 57-percent edge over those who voted against organizing.
Also on Thursday, 53% of Amazon workers in Alabama rejected unionization, in a still-not final outcome.
The Alabama contest could hinge on 416 challenged ballots to be adjudicated in the coming weeks, which are sufficient to change the result, said the NLRB. The situation is far different from last year when workers sided with Amazon by a more than 2-to-1 margin against unionizing.
There are 67 contested ballots in the Staten Island contest, a figure not likely to determine the outcome of the election.
(Additional reporting by Danielle Kaye; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
