Unionizing in the tech industry
Over the past couple of weeks, news outlets have been reporting heavily on the unionization of Amazon workers in the Staten Island warehouse — known as JFK8. This is the first time in company history that Amazon has had any of its US workers unionize. Interestingly, the Amazon Labor Union, which was formed only a year ago, is led by Christian Smalls, a former JFK8 manager who was fired by Amazon in 2020 for reportedly not following COVID distancing protocols, while ironically organizing protests over unsafe working conditions that he felt led to the spread of COVID in the Amazon warehouse he was working at.
What is unionizing? It’s the formation of a labor union consisting of workers who want to achieve a common goal. These goals include improving safety standards, wages and benefits, and working conditions. For the Amazon workers in Staten Island, they’re fighting for collective bargaining rights over issues like safety standards, training, breaks, pay, and benefits.
Amazon and their former leader, Jeff Bezos, has fought for awhile to make sure that their workers would not unionize. Unionization, to companies, means less corporate autonomy and, for Amazon, impediment on the company’s innovation. For this reason, Amazon has trained employees on anti-union tactics. In 2018, a 45-minute training video sent to Whole Foods managers was leaked. In the video, Amazon is clear on its stance against unions. The video states “We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, our associates. Our business model is built upon speed, innovation, and customer obsession — things that are generally not associated with union. When we lose sight of those critical focus areas we jeopardize everyone’s job security: yours, mine, and the associates’.”
Recently, Amazon’s current CEO, Andy Jassy, openly stated that it’s the workers’ right to choose to unionize, but he personally believes that they’re better off not doing so. He also stated that Amazon’s injury rates are “often misunderstood.” Amazon’s injury rates are higher than other warehousing companies, but lower than other delivery companies. Since Amazon is considered both, he feels that this puts them at around the average. Amazon has also claimed that any rises in injury rates have been no greater than that of the industry averages.
Conversely, a recent report has shown that Amazon’s serious injury rate within its warehouses has risen by 15% ever since they’ve pledged to become “Earth’s Safest Place to Work.” In addition, workers at Amazon warehouses are four times as likely to have muscle and joint injuries compares to other workers within the industry. Although Amazon spent upwards of $300 million on improving its employees’ safety, Amazon still accounts for half of the US warehouse injuries despite employing only a third of all US warehouse workers. Contrary to intuition, serious injuries at Amazon warehouses are nearly 30% higher at Amazon’s newer, more highly automated warehouses. This is because workers are forced to keep up with the fast-paced robots that never stop. This is why Amazon has racked up four different violations and fines related to the pace of work in Washington. All four violations are currently being contested.
Reasons like these have contributed to the desire for workers to unionize. JFK8’s voting passed 2,654 votes to 2,131 and this win will most likely translate to other unionizations not only within Amazon, but also other companies. There have already been recent reports of Starbucks employees on strike after the corporation’s union busting tactics. Workers at a Capitol Hill Starbucks unanimously voted to unionize last month, the first for Starbucks’ employees on the West Coast. Apple store employees at Grand Central Station have also begun collecting signatures to form unions to combat wage increases that aren’t keeping up with inflation and poor working conditions.
The technology industry is one of the newest and will continue to evolve over time. We’ll definitely continue to see unions forming and experience how it will affect certain companies and the industry as a whole. Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse unionization seems like it may have just ignited a new era for the technology industry. What measures will companies take in response to this? Will they give in to demands earlier? Will they implement more union busting tactics?
What are your thoughts on labor unions and do you think we’ll see more soon?
