When workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island won the first union at an Amazon distribution facility on April 1, 2022, by voting to form the independent Amazon Labor Union, their stunning victory was a surprise and an inspiration. Now, a little over a year later, workers at that same facility are organizing for reform to the Amazon Labor Union, which they say has adopted a top-down structure that stifles shop floor democracy. Regular listeners of Revolutions per Minute will certainly be familiar with union reform efforts in more established unions like UAW, the Teamsters, and UFCW, but the Reform ALU movement brings a new twist to this common story by organizing within an independent union that has yet to reach a first contract for its workers. To understand this moment and what led up to it, we speak live with David-Desyrée, a worker-organizer at the JFK8 facility and a member of the Amazon Labor Union Democratic Reform Caucus. Follow the reform efforts inside Amazon Labor Union on Twitter @ReformALU or Instagram @reform_alu.
When workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island won the first union at an Amazon distribution facility on April 1, 2022, by voting to form the independent Amazon Labor Union, their stunning victory was a surprise and an inspiration. Now, a little over a year later, workers at that same facility are organizing for reform to the Amazon Labor Union, which they say has adopted a top-down structure that stifles shop floor democracy. Regular listeners of Revolutions per Minute will certainly be familiar with union reform efforts in more established unions like UAW, the Teamsters, and UFCW, but the Reform ALU movement brings a new twist to this common story by organizing within an independent union that has yet to reach a first contract for its workers. To understand this moment and what led up to it, we speak live with David-Desyrée, a worker-organizer at the JFK8 facility and a member of the Amazon Labor Union Democratic Reform Caucus.
Follow the reform efforts inside Amazon Labor Union on Twitter @ReformALU or Instagram @reform_alu.