In a press release and You Tube video on Tuesday, September 6 the Teamsters in the United State announced the creation of a new Amazon division in the union with the goal of "uniting Amazon employees, securing more workplace protections in the warehouse and logistics industry, and defending workers from the unchecked exploitation of one of the world’s most dangerous employers."
This comes after workers at the JFK8 Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, New York voted to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union in April. This was the first time an Amazon workplace in the United States had voted to unionize and came as a unionization wave has been sweeping across the country.
The Teamsters have chosen Randy Korgan, Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 1932, as director of the new Amazon Division.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien:
For 120 years, the Teamsters have proudly and ferociously protected transportation, logistics, and delivery workers, and we refuse to allow Amazon to continue to abuse and disrespect the more than one million Americans it employs. The Teamsters are best positioned to coordinate and secure guaranteed protections for these workers, and Amazon knows it. Our new division affords a nationwide network of resources to all Amazon workers, behind the wheel of any truck or hard at work in any facility, to strategize with the union, mobilize in their communities, and succeed together.
Randy Korgan:
For Teamsters, and the labor movement as a whole, Amazon poses an existential threat to the rights and standards that our members have fought for and won for over 100 years. The new Amazon Division is ready to create and support direct action by workers across the country to beat back this corporate threat to working people.