The Take

How Amazon’s first union got it done

The Take looks at the historic Amazon union victory.

Union organizer Christian Smalls (C) celebrates as he speaks following the vote for the unionization of the Amazon Staten Island warehouse in New York. — Union organiser Christian Smalls (centre) celebrates as he speaks following the vote for the unionisation of the Amazon Staten Island warehouse in New York City, the US [Andrea Renault / AFP]

The first-ever union to win a vote at Amazon did it on a shoestring budget, throwing out much of the organised labour rule book and relying on workers’ inside knowledge. It was the kind of victory that organised labour hasn’t seen in a generation or more. Amazon is the second-largest employer in the United States and the fight cost it millions. So how did the Amazon Labor Union do it? And what’s next?

In this episode:

Jordan Flowers, Amazon Labor Union organiser (@JayyTCOEW)

Kim Kelly, labour journalist and author of Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor (@GrimKim)

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Source: Al Jazeera