Group asks NLRB to OK union vote at Amazon's NY warehouse

NEW YORK (AP) — Union organizers at an Amazon distribution center in New York formally asked federal labor officials on Monday to authorize a vote that could establish the first union at the nation's largest online retailer.

It would be the second unionizing attempt in the past year at Amazon. Workers in Alabama resoundingly defeated an effort earlier this year, but organizers there are asking federal officials for a do-over.

If organizers in New York succeed, it could launch other union drives across the company's vast empire, which includes more than 100 fulfillment centers and nearly 1 million employees across the United States.

Organizers delivered more than 2,000 signed union-support cards to the Brooklyn office of the National Labor Relations Board after launching the effort in April.

“This is a small victory," said Christian Smalls, a former employee of the retail giant who now leads the fledgling Amazon Labor Union. “We know the fight has just started.”

NLRB staff members started counting the cards soon after they were delivered.

Smalls says he was fired last year after organizing a walkout to protest working conditions, although the company said he repeatedly violated company policies.

The NLRB must now verify the submitted signatures to confirm if organizers collected the requisite number of signatures — at least 30% from the roughly 7,000 employees who work at four adjoining Amazon facilities — to authorize a union vote.

Amazon employees have complained about long work hours, insufficient breaks and safety, with Smalls and others likening working conditions to modern-day sweatshops. The employee turnover rate has also been a cause of concern.

A request for comment was sent to an Amazon spokesperson.

The union efforts on Staten Island come as Amazon is on a...