Amazon’s new union battle: Teamsters become locals to expand

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1 (Reuters) – In June, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the nation’s largest and most influential unions, pledged to make the organization of Amazon.com’s workforce Inc. (AMZN.O) a priority.

Two months later, details of the Teamsters’ ground game are beginning to take shape, Reuters has reported from interviews with local union leaders. While the ultimate goal is to organize workers, the short-term strategy is to disrupt.

Over the past year, Teamsters have expressed concerns about Amazon at local government meetings in at least nine communities, which has led to the scrapping of projects and the rejection of a tax cut, as well as resolutions calling for the ‘company that meets local labor standards, according to a Reuters account.

From Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Oceanside, California, Teamsters appear in town halls across the country, joining forces with community groups as they try to persuade local officials to ask for more from the tech giant or reject their expansion plans. They are training members of logistics companies on how to talk to Amazon drivers about the benefits of unionizing. In New York, the Teamsters intervened in a state-approved antitrust bill that would make it easier for regulators to prosecute companies for anti-competitive conduct, and also supported antitrust bills in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Taken together, these early moves show that Teamsters are leveraging their network of more than a million members to face Amazon locally. The increase in momentum suggests that while Amazon earlier this year advocated an attempt by the retail, wholesale and department store union to organize workers in Bessemer, Alabama, the fight against organized labor it has just begun and is taking place across the country.

Amazon did not respond to any feedback requests.

Teamsters are playing the long game, proving that while the organization of Amazon workers is a long-term project, they can keep the company within reach by challenging expansion plans in the meantime.

Most of Amazon’s facilities “need to be built in a specific area for operational needs,” Randy Korgan, Amazon’s national director of Teamsters, said in an interview. “Why would any community give away anything?”

Instead of holding votes overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, as RWDSU did in Bessemer, the Teamsters have indicated they will try to increase pressure on Amazon through tactics such as community demonstrations, strikes and boycotts until the e-commerce giant is forced. to treat them.

GROUND GAME

With its vast workforce, Amazon is seen as one of the toughest targets of organized labor, and focusing on a proposed warehouse is a long way from organizing a workforce. The International Union of Food and Commercial Workers, for example, has fought the expansion of Walmart Inc. (WMT.N) for years using similar tactics, but has yet to get U.S. workers down.

Still, local forums like town halls and planning committee meetings are a good place to start, said Pat Garofalo, director of state and local policy for the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit organization.

“You have to reduce (Amazon’s) ability to make your way at the same time as you look at workers’ ability to make demands, ”he said.

As one of the largest unions in America, Teamsters are well-funded, though their finances are decentralized, with money often concentrated in the hands of powerful local branches, said John Logan, a professor at State University. of San Francisco. This makes achieving local acquisitions critical, though Logan doesn’t believe Teamsters have trouble coming together around Amazon’s cause.

Southern California, which is both an Amazon logistics hub and a place where unions enjoy strong support, has become a key battleground. The Teamsters knocked on the doors of about 700 neighboring homes and attended county meetings to discuss the Amazon proposal in the San Cajon suburb of San Diego.

The union followed a similar game book in Oceanside, California, inviting community members to sign “letters of commitment” to stay committed to an Amazon development. In August, the city council rejected the project.

Teamsters are also closing ranks on Amazon in Massachusetts. In Boston and eleven surrounding counties, local leaders have passed non-binding resolutions drafted by Teamsters Local 25 urging Amazon to maintain local labor standards and meet with unions and community groups as it expands, according to Local 25.

Pushing the resolution, the Teamsters targeted municipalities near highways and airports, trying to attack Amazon where it hurts, said Sean O’Brien, president of Local 25.

“Amazon isn’t happy,” O’Brien said.

It’s unclear if Teamsters can slow Amazon’s long-term growth rate, but one thing’s for sure: the fight will require endurance. In June, Arvada City Council, Colorado, voted for a proposal for an Amazon delivery center after Teamsters business agent Dan Murphy and other community members protested against the project, in Citing concerns such as traffic, safety and working conditions.

Weeks after the vote, Murphy heard rumors of another Amazon project that could be underway an hour north.

Julia Love’s report in San Francisco; Edited by Kenneth Li, Peter Henderson and Matthew Lewis

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