Anita Alem is a student at Harvard Law School.
On Wednesday, the Amazon Labor Union announced that the Staten Island Amazon warehouse JFK8 will be holding its first union election from March 25 to March 30. As we reported yesterday, the vote will coincide with the vote counting process for the union election occurring in Bessemer, Alabama. The date and JFK8 location is significant, as it marks exactly two years since Christian Smalls organized a warehouse walkout to protest unsafe conditions as a result of COVID-19. Smalls, who was later fired in what he alleges was a retaliatory action for his whistleblowing, has since organized Amazon workers as the president of the Amazon Labor Union. Smalls tweeted to note the significance of the voting date, two years after the JFK8 walkout, and also shared what appears to be a text message from Amazon to JFK8 employees encouraging them to vote no in the election.
Internationally, Reuters reported that unionized workers of Samsung Electronics in South Korea appear to be threatening an unprecedented strike. Workers rallied at Samsung’s Seoul headquarters demanding benefits such as increased paid leave and health benefits. A union official noted the concerns over public outrage if workers were to strike, stating “We don’t want a strike at a chip line. If I said we want to stop a chip line that would make us into a public enemy.” The largest union has more than 4,500 workers and constitutes about 4% of Korea’s worker population.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 3
New Jersey advances a temp worker rights bill; Johns Hopkins doctoral students join a wave of unionized graduate students; canvassers systematically misrepresented a petition for a veto referendum on the California fast food workers bill; and strikes continue in the UK
February 2
Starbucks made illegal threats during a union election; an Illinois bill would paid time off; and the UK cost of living strike continues.
February 1
Judge rules Amazon violated labor law and HuffPost workers announce readiness to strike.
January 31
Apple faces ULP charge; public school teachers strike in Massachusetts; UAW runoff voting begins; a Jacobin article discusses a new app that could facilitate union organizing
January 30
[email protected] — Illinois’s highest court considers whether federal collective bargaining law preempts BIPA; the EEOC publishes a new plan to enforce nondiscrimination laws against AI hiring technology; and working professionals discover the wonders — and dangers — of ChatGPT.
January 29
Republican states challenge DOL's ESG rule, Ninth Circuit agrees to hear lawsuit challenging private prison labor