A federal labor official who presided over Amazon’s challenge to a union victory at a Staten Island warehouse has recommended that the challenge be rejected, the National Labor Relations Board said on Thursday.
The labor board official, known as a hearing officer, concluded that Amazon’s objections to the election should be set aside and that the Amazon Labor Union should be certified to represent workers at the warehouse, known as JFK8.
A regional director of the labor board will issue a formal ruling in the coming weeks or months after considering the hearing officer’s report. Regional directors typically follow a hearing officer’s recommendation in such cases, but Amazon could still appeal to the labor board in Washington if the regional director’s ruling affirms the election result.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The election this year at the Staten Island warehouse was the first time Amazon warehouse workers in the United States voted in favor of forming a union. The labor board announced on April 1 that the Amazon Labor Union had won the election at JFK8 by more than a 10-point margin. Roughly 4,800 employees cast votes out of more than 8,300 who were eligible.
The union was not affiliated with an established labor organization and its victory was considered a long shot. Amazon held hundreds of mandatory anti-union meetings with employees in the run-up to the election and sent them frequent texts and posted signs throughout the warehouse urging them to vote no.