The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) is set to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the hopes of strengthening its force and finally establishing a contract with the e-commerce giant Amazon.
The ALU is a group consisting of current and former workers, and considered as the first group of workers that was able to organize at a U.S. warehouse. It was able to put its name on the map after it won a union election two years ago in Staten Island, N.Y.
Initially, when the ALU was formed, it distanced itself from the country's major labor unions, establishing the organization as an independent one. However, the road to getting a contract with Amazon was not easy and the group has been struggling to ink a deal with the conglomerate.
Amazon was also seeking to reject the election results, and conflicts between ALU members and the union leader, Chris Small, did not help in making things better.
"Today is a historical day for labor in America as we now combine forces with one of the most powerful unions to take on Amazon together," Smalls wrote. "Our message is clear we want a Contract, and we want it Now. We're putting Amazon on notice that we are coming!"
Just last year, the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus, a separate group made up of former members, filed a suit against the union where it accused the organization of violating its own constitution. It prayed for the court to order the union to hold an election for its union officers.
By affiliating with the Teamsters, the ALU hopes to gain good support and backing to be able to kickoff negotiations with Amazon. The Teamsters is considered as one of the biggest unions in the U.S., which The Hill stated, represents approximately 1.3 million workers in the U.S. and Canada.
In a post on X, Teamsters revealed that the board unanimously approved the affiliation of ALU with the union. The post stated that, "Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien during the union's General Executive Board meeting today in Washington, DC."
Although the board has already unanimously approved the affiliation, it remains tentative until members of both organization would vote and ratify it, Smalls said in a text message, as per CNBC.
The caucus, the group that sued ALU last year, has already expressed its opposition to the affiliation. Its counsel, Arthur Schwartz, alleged that the ALU lacks an employee or membership list, which he said makes it unclear as to how it can call for a vote to ratify the affiliation.
