Amazon's New York union of 8,000 workers formally affiliates with the Teamsters

By Tomi Kilgore

Newly chartered ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 1 will have jurisdiction over all of New York City

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced Wednesday that it has formally affiliated with the Amazon Labor Union, with a vote to ratify the affiliation to take place in "the coming weeks."

The Amazon Labor Union represents the roughly 8,000 Amazon warehouse workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, a borough of New York City.

The newly chartered ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 1, which followed a unanimous approval by the Teamsters' board, will have jurisdiction over all five of New York City's boroughs, which also includes Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.

Amazon (AMZN) has not responded to a request for comment.

General President Sean O'Brien of the Teamsters, which has 1.3 million members, said the ALU affiliation will push Amazon to "fairly negotiate" a union contract with the JFK8 workers.

"Amazon is far and away the greediest of American corporations. It does the most harm to American workers in delivery and logistics," O'Brien said. "In this partnership, the Teamsters and ALU will ensure Amazon workers at JFK8 realize the first contract they are long overdue."

Amazon's stock closed Wednesday up 1.1% at $181.28, to mark a third-straight gain.

To say that the relationship between Amazon and union labor has been contentious would be an understatement.

In January 2023, a U.S. Labor representative dismissed Amazon's objections to the union's election victory at JFK8.

And a month ago, a federal judge ruled that certain anti-union comments by Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy violated labor laws.

Amazon's stock has rallied 19.3% year to date, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF XLY has slipped 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, which Amazon's stock joined in February, has tacked on 3% this year.

-Tomi Kilgore

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06-05-24 2112ET

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