Union Victory At Amazon Pushes Corporate America To Be Nicer To EmployeesThis month’s
vote to start a union by Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, sent a jolt through employers across the country. They’re nervous that if Amazon, worth $1.5 trillion, couldn’t prevent workers from organizing despite spending
$4.3 million on anti-union efforts last year.
Approximately
2,600 Amazon employees voting pro-union in New York is causing ripples that may
affect millions of workers and their bosses across the country. Some companies are taking no chances, even if their employees have shown zero interest in unionizing.
Union membership has been in decline for decades —
falling to 10.3% of the American workforce in 2021, down from about twice that in 1983 — but there’s been increased momentum during the pandemic. Petitions to form a labor union shot up 57% in the last six months with campaigns at
Amazon, Starbucks, John Deere, Kellogg’s and REI among the highest-profile.
