Experts: Amazon workers at New York warehouse vote to unionize

Amazon warehouse workers in the Staten Island borough of New York City voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the online retail giant's history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive. (CBC News) 

Barry Eidlin, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology 

“The workers’ victory at the JFK8 Amazon fulfillment center is a true David vs. Goliath story. Not only is it the first-ever Amazon facility to vote to unionize in North America, but with more than 8,000 workers in the facility, it is one of the largest private-sector union organizing wins in at least 30 years. What is particularly noteworthy is that the JFK8 workers prevailed against one of the largest, most viciously anti-union companies in the world largely on their own, without the backing of a major union, without paid organizing and legal staff, without many of the key resources that are a standard part of most union organizing campaigns. That is likely making Amazon management nervous, but it should also be a wake-up call for unions to re-think their organizing strategies. Most importantly, this win at Amazon, along with the current wave of organizing at Starbucks, demonstrates the central importance of worker-led campaigns.” 

Barry Eidlin is an Assistant Professor of Sociology. He is a comparative historical sociologist interested in the study of class, politics, inequality, and social change. More specifically, his research explores the changing relationship between social mobilization, political processes, and ideology in advanced capitalist democracies. 

barry.eidlin [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)