Biden appears to show support for Amazon workers who voted to unionize

WASHINGTON — Days after warehouse workers on Staten Island defied Amazon and successfully unionized, President Biden on Wednesday threw his support behind the workers and defended their case.

In remarks at a national conference of union workers, Mr. Biden spoke directly with one of the world’s most powerful companies and defended the right of workers to join a union. “The choice to join a union is only up to the workers,” he said during remarks at the National Conference of North American Construction Unions. “By the way, Amazon, here we come. Watch.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president was merely expressing his long-standing support for collective bargaining and unions.

“What he didn’t do is send a message that he or the US government would be directly involved in any of these efforts or take any direct action,” Ms. Psaki said.

Still, the comments about Amazon were most explicit from Mr. Biden, who has called himself the “most supportive of a union president” ever and has long hinted at the company’s efforts to discourage its employees from retiring from unions. approve, disapprove. Last year, Mr. Biden expressed his support for workers trying to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama. But at the time, the president did not name the company.

“Let me be very clear: It is not for me to decide whether someone should join a union,” he said in a direct-to-camera address on the White House’s Twitter page at the time, after a press campaign of pro-union groups pushed him to join the ride. “But let me be more clear: it is not up to an employer to decide that.” The workers there narrowly voted against the formation of a union. Amazon has also said that employees have the right to decide to join a union, but the National Labor Relations Board has filed a number of cases alleging that the company has improperly interfered with their right to do so. Amazon denies that.

The success of the union action at the Staten Island warehouse — Amazon’s only fulfillment center in New York City — surprised many. According to the National Labor Relations Board, workers cast 2,654 votes to be represented by Amazon Labor Union and 2,131 votes against, giving the union a win of more than 10 percentage points.

The victory comes at a dangerous time for the workers’ movement. Despite increasing public approval for unions, the high demand for workers and the pockets of successful labor activity, the proportion of American workers in unions fell to 10.3 percent last year, the lowest percentage in decades.

Critics — including some union officials — say traditional unions have failed to devote sufficient resources to campaigning and have often bet on the wrong fights.

Amazon is expected to aggressively contest the union’s victory. An unsigned statement on his company blog said, “We are disappointed with the results of the Staten Island election because we believe a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees.”

Amazon went to work during the pandemic, giving employees a growing sense of power while fueling concerns about workplace safety. It now has 1.6 million employees worldwide, but is plagued by high turnover. A New York Times investigation last year into the Staten Island warehouse known as JFK8 revealed how many of its problems — including accidental layoffs and skyrocketing attrition — were emblematic of Amazon’s employment model at large.

The National Labor Relations Board has challenged cases in administrative and federal court saying Amazon has violated employees’ organizational rights. Amazon’s main response to the union’s victory was that it believes the agency has lost objectivity and actively supported the union, rather than being a neutral arbiter.

But the agency said its actions against Amazon were consistent with its congressional mandate to enforce labor rights.

Katie Rogers reported from Washington, and Karen Weise from Seattle. Noam Scheiber contributed reporting from Chicago.