Amazon union

When it comes to figuring out the best way to have negotiations between the workers of a

company and the people in charge of changing policies, the formation of labor unions is a heated

debate. Most people will argue that they will do nothing but promote the interest of only a few

workers, while others strongly believe that this is the only way that the voices of the workers will

be heard when making policies without a corporate intermediary. Since their creations, they were

usually integrated by workers in dangerous and exploitable industries like mining,

manufacturing, and some public sector offices. However, in the last decades, these have

expanded to all types of industries such as fast food and retail stores.

In my opinion, the formation of this new Labor Union is a win. We have all heard about

the unfair practices and treatments of Amazon against its employees, standing aside from most

tech companies which tend to offer better working conditions and benefits to their workers. Also,

forming a Union has become an American signature in the last decades. Independent

representation is something that we the U.S. have always fought for. For instance, when

renegotiating NAFTA (now USMCA), it was put as a condition that the Mexican government

reformulated its labor unions for them to be more independent. It would be outrageous that we

fight for that in foreign countries, but do not give the example at home.

However, there are some pitfalls and downsides when we see the creation of labor

unions. The biggest of them all is that, instead of negotiating, some unions tend to make

impossible demands and incentivize their members to go on strikes if they are not met. This

locks the growth of the company and, therefore, employees are the ones that suffer and the first

to be sacrificed in case of a crisis. But, these are only some extreme cases and not at all the

common scenarios. Most union leaders tend to have an open mind and understand their role as
intermediator and representative negotiators. Therefore, the benefits will, in most cases,

outweigh the pitfalls. And this is the case that we see so far with the newly created Amazon one.

The initial demands of the union are not ambitious or exaggerated at all, from my point of

view they seem fair. Aside from the typical wage raises (that are deserved amid the national

inflation that the country is facing), they are demanding:

• Paid time off for the rest of the day when someone is injured.

• Reinstallation of 20 minutes breaks (when now is 15).

• A shuttle from a ferry terminal.

• The usage of phones to be aware of emergencies.

• Paid sick days (something they should already have because of NY State Law).

• The closure of the building when there are extreme weather conditions.

These, among other things, are the principal initial demands, which all seem fair to me.

They do not seem to want to be strike-oriented and benefit/wage demanding. Something as basic

as shutting the building down when there are conditions that are not safe for all is something that

should be mandated by law, not a desire from a worker. However, this opinion is from an

employee’s point of view, it can be way different if I knew what is like to be a CEO.

CEOs’ main goal is to increase their shareholder’s wealth by maximizing the company’s

revenue that they oversee. So, would the CEO instead of the employee change my mind about

the arguments said? I do not think so. I believe that to have a successful company and maximize

its earnings, you must keep it going and moving at its best. In a manufacturing facility where the

employees are the best asset to do so, not meeting with them and actively listening to their

concerns to have a better working environment would make the productivity shrink. How is it
worth it to have 5 minutes cut from their breaks so that they can spend more time working if they

are going to be tired and commit mistakes only for those 5 minutes? Wouldn’t it be more

pleasant for both parties to accommodate them and make sure that they do a good job? That is

my philosophy and I think that it would not change if I was on the other side of the mirror.

In conclusion, the new creation of a Labor Union by the workers of the Amazon

warehouse in Staten Island is not a bad thing, and it can be mutually beneficial for both parties

(employee and employer) if they decide so. But we cannot be skeptical about the benefits that

this can imply for workers and for the enterprise itself. As mentioned before, Amazon has not

been a good example of good treatment towards its workers before, they should take this

opportunity to change that perception and demonstrate that they care about them. If they fail to

do so, we must remember that we are in the “Great Resignation” era and that there are a lot of

companies out there who offer great benefits and a better work environment, all looking for

skilled and unskilled labor to meet its necessities. Amazon is one of the most profitable

companies in the world, their success is unquestionable, it would be very sad if that title changes

for a manageable reason. However, Amazon is still battling in court for the approval of this

union so it is not certain that it will prevail in the future. We must be attentive to the future.
References

Palmer, Annie. “Amazon Workers on Staten Island Vote for Company’s First Unionized

Warehouse in U.S.” CNBC, 2 Apr. 2022, www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/amazon-workers-

in-staten-island-vote-to-unionize.html.

Alu. “We Demand 8 Immediate Changes from Amazon.” Amazon Labor Union, 13 Apr. 2022,

www.amazonlaborunion.org/change-now.

Alu. “And 8 More Immediate Changes!” Amazon Labor Union, 13 Apr. 2022,

www.amazonlaborunion.org/more-changes.

Mourdoukoutas, Panos, PhD. “Labor Unions Could Change The Game For Starbucks,

Amazon.” International Business Times, 3 Apr. 2022, www.ibtimes.com/labor-unions-

could-change-game-starbucks-amazon-3459812.

Chris Isidore and Sara O’Brien, CNN Business. “Amazon and Starbucks Union Votes Are Small

Wins — but Important Ones — for US Labor.” CNN, 13 Apr. 2022,

edition.cnn.com/2022/04/13/business/amazon-starbucks-union-votes/index.html.