A dissident group within Amazon Labor Union, the only accredited labor union representing Amazon workers in the country, filed a complaint in federal court Monday seeking to force the union to hold leadership elections.
The union won an election in April 2022 at a Staten Island warehouse with more than 8,000 employees, but Amazon disputed the outcome and has yet to begin contract negotiations.
The rise of a dissident group called the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus, which includes the union’s co-founder and former accountant, is a split within the union that appears to undermine the union’s ability to pressure Amazon. reflects the expansion of The split also threatens to sap the momentum generated by last year’s high-profile victory for the broader labor movement.
In its complaint, the reformist lawmakers allege that the union and its president, Christian Smalls, have illegally “failed to hold elections of officers scheduled for no later than March 2023.”
The complaint asks a federal judge to schedule union leadership elections by August 30 at the latest and to appoint a neutral observer to oversee the elections.
In a text message on Monday, Smalls said the complaint was “absurd allegations with zero facts or merit,” and the law firm representing the union said if the complaint was filed, it would take legal action against the Reform Group’s lawyers. He said he would seek sanctions.
The complaint states that the previous union constitution required that leadership elections be held within 60 days of the union’s recognition of victory by the National Labor Relations Commission.
But in December, the month before the Labor Commission’s accreditation, trade union leaders presented new statutes to union members who are due for election after the union ratifies the contract with Amazon. Even if this happens, it could take years.
Reform lawmakers sent a letter to union leaders on Friday outlining a proposal for a speedy election, and said they would go to court on Monday if they did not accept the proposal.
The reform group is made up of more than 40 active organizers who are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including union co-founder and former treasurer Conor Spence. Brett Daniels, former organizational director of the union. and Brima Shira, the prominent organizer of the Staten Island Warehouse.
In its letter, the group said the enactment of the proposal “is the difference between the ALU, which is a powerful, effective, herald of democracy in the labor movement,” and “the ALU, which ultimately turned out to be exactly what Amazon warned workers to do.” could mean,” he said. It’s going to be a business that steals workers’ voices. “
Smalls said in the letter that union leadership has worked closely with law firms and the US Department of Labor to ensure that their actions are lawful.
Union lawyer Jeanne Miller wrote to the reformist delegation’s lawyers, saying the case was frivolous and based on falsehoods. He said Spence had “unfairly and unilaterally” replaced the union charter with a June 2022 amendment, and the amendment calling for post-certification elections was never formally adopted by the union board. rice field.
Another union lawyer, Retu Shingra, said in an interview that the constitution was never finalized due to disagreements within the union leadership.
Mr Spence said he and other members of the union board revised the statute in extensive consultation with union lawyers. Another union official who participated in the discussion backed up his account.
Splits within the union date back to last fall, when several longtime Amazon unionists frustrated Mr. Smalls after he suffered a one-sided defeat in a union election at an Amazon warehouse near Albany, N.Y. rice field.
At the post-election meeting, organizers argued that union leadership was in the hands of too few people and that leaders should be elected to give more voice to ordinary workers.
Skeptics also say Mr Smalls is allowing unions to enter elections without a plan to win them, and that unions need a better process for deciding which organizational activities to support. complained. Many organizers aren’t spending too much time traveling across the country to make his public appearances as Smalls is focusing on contract fights in Staten Island. I was worried.
Smalls later said in an interview that his trip was necessary to help raise money for the union, garnering support from workers for a strike that could bring Amazon to the negotiating table. He said his preferred approach was counterproductive. Warning workers who feared losing their livelihoods.
He said the worker-led movement shouldn’t turn its back on workers at other warehouses if they want to unionize. Union leaders hired by Smalls also argued that holding elections before unions had established a more systematic way of reaching out to workers would be undemocratic, as only the most dedicated activists would vote. .
Many skeptics walked away in December when Mr. Smalls announced new union charters, which he scheduled for elections after the deal was ratified. Both factions have been operating independently this year, with both holding regular meetings with their members.
In April, a group of reform lawmakers began circulating a petition to Staten Island Warehouse workers urging the leadership to change the constitution and hold swift elections. The petition has been signed by hundreds of employees at the facility.
The petition soon became a point of tension with Mr. Smalls. In a WhatsApp exchange with members of the Reform caucuses in early May (a copy of which is included in Monday’s legal complaint), Smalls said the union would be forced to retire if the caucus did not abandon the petition. “I will take legal action against you,” he said.
Tensions appeared to have eased later in the month when union leadership led by Smalls suggested the two sides enter mediation. Reform lawmakers accepted the invitation and suspended the petition.
But union leadership withdrew from the mediation process on June 18 without explanation, according to a memo sent to both sides on June 29 by mediator Bill Fletcher Jr. and seen by The New York Times.
In his memo, Fletcher referred to the union executive committee, saying, “The obvious confusion within the ALU E. Board is that little has been done to organize workers and prepare them to fight Amazon.” I am concerned that it means “This situation has significantly undermined worker support.”
Colin Moynihan Contributed to the report.
