Amazon Labor Union members have voted to affiliate with the Teamsters by 98.3% The outcome creates a new Teamsters local: ALU-IBT Local 1, covering the five boroughs of New York City.

On June 27, workers at Amazon will cast ballots in a second vote — this time to elect their union leaders.

The leadership election was scheduled after the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus filed a lawsuit last year, alleging that ALU President Chris Smalls refused to hold officer elections in violation of the ALU Constitution. 

At stake in the Teamsters affiliation and upcoming officer elections is building the leverage needed to win a first contract.

The ALU inspired the labor movement by winning the first union election at Amazon two years ago of 8,000 workers at Amazon fulfillment center JFK8 on Staten Island, New York.

But since then, ALU has been unable to bring Amazon to the bargaining table. 

The ALU Democratic Reform Caucus campaigned in favor of affiliating with the Teamsters, saying the agreement would help “turn the beachhead we’ve secured in Staten Island into a militant autonomous local.” 

A Home for Amazon Organizing

Independent Amazon organizing groups are increasingly turning to the Teamsters to build the clout they need to win.

Delivery drivers in Palmdale, California joined the Teamsters and the IBT has been extending picket lines to other Amazon locations to back their fight.

Last month, workers at Amazon’s main air hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG) airport also voted to affiliate their organizing effort with the Teamsters.