Amazon employees at Southern California warehouse vote to join Teamsters

Another 1,000 Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) employees have unionized, with workers at the KSBD air hub in Southern California joining the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The announcement comes after the Teamsters notified Amazon (AMZN) of a December 15 deadline to agree to a bargaining date for a union contract.

The decision to align with the Teamsters comes amid months of disputes at the San Bernardino facility against the ecommerce giant. In July, workers held an unfair labor practice strike to protest retaliatory actions the company reportedly took against organization efforts, and in September, employees “marched on the boss” and shut down operations after the company refused to take appropriate actions as wildfires caused unsafe conditions at the warehouse. With the holiday rush looming, Amazon (AMZN) workers are seeking “their fair share” and a “voice on the job.”

“Every day we’re on the job, we’re breaking our bodies to get packages out on time and to keep Amazon customers happy. In return, all we’re asking for is livable wages, fair treatment, and respect. For a company worth trillions of dollars, that should be the bare minimum,” said an employee at the KSBD hub.

The drive to organize at Amazon (AMZN) began in 2020 in Staten Island, NY with the formation of the Amazon Labor Union (“ALU”) at the JFK8 warehouse, which later aligned itself with the Teamsters. The company agreed to settle with the National Labor Relations Board to allow Amazon (AMZN) employees mandated time on Amazon property before and after work to for union organizing purposes. The efforts ultimately contributed to thousands of Amazon employees voting to unionize.

Amazon has resisted these efforts and continues to maintain that the best way to secure better benefits and working conditions is to deal with the company directly. “We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers or shareholders or most importantly, our associates,” the company reportedly said in a training video.

To further their objective, the company has also reportedly hired anti-union organizations to infiltrate its warehouses and used “heat maps” to identify which facilities had the highest levels of pro-union momentum.