Approximately a year ago, the independent Amazon Labor Union won a stunning victory at the JFK8 warehouse—but a year on the union struggles to find its footing and is racked by a massive internal conflict. On July 10, approximately 80 members of the union—organized as the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus—sued the union in a court of law in a bid to force elections they say should have taken place months ago. The suit is the culmination of months of internal division and what Labor Notes calls "two approaches [...] in conflict"
It appears that Amazon Labor Union and ALU Democratic Reform Caucus have come to an agreement that will put an end to the ongoing dispute over the legitimacy of ALU's leadership. According to the Democratic Reform Caucus in today's press release, this agreement "notably includes a path to democratic elections for union officer roles in 2024"—a key demand that cleaved the union in two for most of last year.
This agreement appears to have been in the works for at least a month, as the Labor Union and the Democratic Reform Caucus released a previous statement of unity in early December that (among other things) declared "[a] framework has been agreed upon to help preserve our union and take on Amazon." No doubt recent developments and the continuing fight against Amazon have helped speed this process along a bit: since I wrote the above piece, early ALU organizer Connor Spence has been illegally fired by Amazon (he has a GoFundMe here). ALU has also been in the throes of struggle, including a late-December walkout at JFK8 (demanding higher wages and COLA adjustments, an end to mandatory overtime, and the end of union-busting against ALU) and new organizing/fighting union-busting at Amazon KCVG, Amazon's largest air hub.
Hopefully, the forthcoming elections will only strengthen the cause of ALU in the months and years to come—I think it goes without saying that they'll need it as they continue to take on one of the most powerful corporations in the world.
