Amazon Labor Union Signs Affiliation Agreement with Teamsters

In a milestone for organized labor, the Amazon Labor Union has formally begun the process of affiliation with the 1.3 million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters. When ratified, the affiliation will supply renewed representation and stronger resources for Amazon workers—behind the wheel and inside warehouses—as they organize and demand a contract from the global behemoth.  

Amazon Labor Union members will vote on ratification of the affiliation in the coming weeks. The affiliation was announced by Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien on Tuesday during the union’s General Executive Board meeting in Washington, D.C. The Teamsters’ board unanimously approved the affiliation agreement.

Upon ratification by ALU members, the newly chartered ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1 will represent the roughly 8,000 Amazon warehouse workers at JFK8 and have jurisdiction across New York’s five boroughs. This will be the first ALU-IBT local union fully established under the Teamsters Constitution. Members of ALU-IBT Local 1 will have access to the financial and organizational resources of the Teamsters International Union, the Teamsters Amazon Division, and Teamsters Joint Council 16 here in New York. Read more here!