Published
August 05, 2024
The Amazon Labor Union (ALU), also known as Teamsters Local 1, recently held leadership elections, and Chris Smalls, who led the union in a number of organizing campaigns, is out as President. Connor Spence will now lead the union.
Smalls’ leadership was questioned after the ALU lost several organizing campaigns and failed to negotiate a contract in the wake of a still-disputed election at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, NY. Litigation regarding the conduct of that election is pending.
Spence will certainly have his work cut out for him. The Chamber has written about the challenges facing the union, which have included financial problems, allegations of anti-democratic practices, litigation related to leadership disputes, and failed organizing campaigns.
A bigger problem, though, may be simple indifference. The number of workers who voted in the leadership election says a lot about why the ALU has struggled. According to reports, just 247 of 5,312 eligible voters, about 5%, voted in the election. These numbers certainly call into question how excited workers at the Staten Island location really are about union representation.
Spence’s election comes shortly after the Teamsters annexed the ALU. It will be interesting to determine if annexation and the leadership change bring any uptick in the ALU’s fortunes. But with such a tiny minority engaged with the union, one wonders if a decertification vote is on the horizon.
About the authors
Glenn Spencer
Spencer oversees the Chamber’s work on immigration, retirement security, traditional labor relations, human trafficking, wage hour and worker safety issues, EEOC matters, and state labor and employment law.
