Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to unionize at the NLRB office in Brooklyn, New York, October 25, 2021.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Employees at an Amazon warehouse near Albany overwhelmingly rejected a unionization effort on Tuesday, delivering a blow to an upstart labor union seeking to organize workers at the retail giant.
The tally was 206 votes in favor of the union and 406 votes opposed. Four ballots were voided. The results of the election still need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board.
The results mark the latest setback for the Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots organization of current and former Amazon employees, which had a historic win in April at a warehouse on New York’s Staten Island. The group also lost a vote in May at a nearby warehouse on Staten Island.
Workers at the warehouse, known as ALB1, hoped the union would help employees obtain higher wages. Amazon last month bumped up the starting wage at the facility to $17 an hour, up from $15.70, alongside pay increases for front-line workers across the country.
ALB1 organizers have also raised concerns about working conditions, saying the rapid pace of work has led to high injury rates, and caused employee burnout.
Representatives from Amazon and the union didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.