News & Commentary

March 3, 2022

Anita Alem

Anita Alem is a student at Harvard Law School.

A third Amazon warehouse received approval from the NLRB to conduct union elections on Wednesday. The Verge reported that LDJ5, a Staten Island warehouse, joined JFK8 and the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, in the ongoing efforts to unionize Amazon workers. Labor journalist Lauren K. Gurley tweeted a screenshot of a text that Amazon sent its LDJ5 employees confirming that the Amazon Labor Union has “met the criteria to continue processing the ALU’s petition to have an election at LDJ5.” Amazon’s message contained reflected typical anti-union rhetoric, warning workers: “you could end up with the same, more, or less than you have now – while paying the ALU for representation.”

The Wall Street Journal, covering a Wells Fargo report, found that the shortage of daycare workers has impacted 460,000 families, disproportionately hindering women from participating in the workforce. The concern was echoed by Tuesday’s State of the Union address, in which President Biden encouraged Congress to decrease the costs associated with child care.

In international news, workers at an autoparts assembly plant operated by a U.S.-based company voted overwhelmingly in favor of representation by an independent union. The triumph marks the second time in as many months that an independent union won out against Mexico’s “old guard” unions after a similar vote at a GM plant.

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