Union Election Set at North Carolina Amazon Warehouse
On January 7, exactly three years since the founding of Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that workers at Amazon’s RDU1 fulfillment center in Garner, North Carolina, have submitted union authorization cards exceeding the 30% threshold of employees required to trigger an election to choose or reject union representation.
Voting is scheduled for February 10 – 15.
World-Outlook recently interviewed via video CAUSE president and co-founder Rev. Ryan Brown, widely known among RDU1 workers as “Rev. Ryan,” about this development.
“This is an historic moment in the South, in a little town that no one has ever heard of,” said Rev. Brown. Garner is located south of Raleigh, in Wake County.
Amazon employs about 4,700 people at RDU1, more than 70% of whom are Black, Latino, and other workers of color. About 4,300 of these workers are eligible to take part in the union election, according to the NLRB. The sprawling warehouse opened in August 2020 and covers 2 million square feet across four floors.
Workers in only one U.S. Amazon warehouse have won a union election so far — at JFK8 in Staten Island, New York. Workers in three other Amazon warehouses managed to trigger union elections but came up short in winning a majority of ballots cast. If CAUSE succeeds, RDU1 would become only the second U.S. Amazon facility where a union is recognized by the NLRB, and the first in the South.
In another sign of Amazon’s unremitting hostility to unionization efforts, the company terminated Rev. Brown on December 3. As CAUSE noted in a December 23 press release announcing the filing of union authorization cards with the NLRB, he is among a number of union organizers at RDU1 fired by the company.
Union activists at Amazon facilities across the country have faced similar victimization. At JFK8 the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) president, recording secretary, and chief shop steward have all been fired.
This is just one tactic in Amazon’s extensive anti-union playbook, aimed at sowing fear in the workforce. Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges have been filed with the NLRB, but to date none of these discriminatory firings have been overturned.
“There’s a war going on right now inside of that building,” said Rev. Brown, referring to RDU1. “‘Scamazon’ has flown in union busters from every nook and cranny of the country — from Rhode Island, Seattle, Ohio, and Florida.”
While Brown’s termination might make some RDU1 workers more hesitant to engage with the union campaign, the CAUSE leader maintains the union organizing effort has considerable momentum. “Of course there will be some workers who will be discouraged,” he says. “But I’m not the union. The union is all of us.”
‘A democratic, independent union’
“CAUSE is a democratic, independent union that is built by, represents, and led by workers. We know the South and we know our coworkers,” Brown stated.
“When we first started CAUSE, we were so new and so fresh,” Brown told World-Outlook. “We knew nothing about organizing. To be honest we were ignorant, but we had passion. We started talking amongst one another. We had surveys, discussions, and debates on what were some of the major concerns.”
“A lot of those were generic — more pay, longer breaks, holiday pay, and no forced overtime. But when I add up all of those demands, they add up to just one simple thing — workers want to be treated with dignity and respect because we’re not robots. We’re human beings. We’re living creatures that experience the full range of human emotions. We cry. We love. We just want to be recognized for our humanity and not seen as replaceable objects to be discarded.”
In an October interview with World-Outlook, CAUSE co-founder and vice president Mary Hill provided more detail on the history and stakes of the workers’ effort to unionize RDU1.
When asked about the future of CAUSE as an organization independent from established trade unions, Rev. Brown said that when he and Hill first started organizing “we took a deep look at the state of the American union movement and found it stagnant. So, we followed the model we saw and that was the ALU. How did Amazon get this large and no union took them on? This was not supposed to happen. If we win this election that’s just the first stage of the battle. We’ve still got to fight to get Amazon to the negotiating table. We’re going to have to have a very serious discussion and debate about affiliating with a larger trade union. That is definitely a conversation that we’ll have to have.”
The ALU affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters last summer.
Over the Christmas holidays, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters called for walkouts at eight Amazon facilities. While the participation by rank-and-file Amazon workers was small, the job actions received considerable media coverage. “One of the positive aspects… is that they created conversations in America about Amazon,” said Rev. Brown. “It’s a start.” Although he said he had several criticisms about these actions, he declined to go on record. “That should be a discussion held in a private room,” he added.
“We’re in the fight of our lives,” Brown concluded. “We appeal to your readers for their solidarity and help. CAUSE can be reached through our website.”