FLORENCE, Ky. — Members of Amazon Labor Union-KCVG kicked off a three-week voting period Saturday to ratify the union’s constitution.
The document lays out the principles of the union before it can move on to bylaws and, potentially, an official representation vote by the National Labor Relations Board.
It’s a different approach from the DHL workers across the street, who went on strike at the end of 2023. They chose to be represented by Teamsters, an international labor union.
Amazon associate and ALU-KCVG organizer Josh Crowell said the group decided to go through the constitution process to give co-workers a sense of ownership in the union-building process. That “puts them in a much stronger position going into an NLRB election to not just vote yes, but convince their co-workers to vote yes, too,” he said.
Should the union reach that stage, they plan to make the following demands, among others:
- $30/hr starting wage
- 180 hours of paid time off
- Union representation at disciplinary meetings.
Monthly dues would be $30.
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis said that employees “have a choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have.”
“The fact is, Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting: safe and inclusive workplaces, competitive pay, health benefits on day one, and opportunities for career growth," she said.
Amazon points to a $21/hr starting wage at KCVG and health, vision and dental insurance, among other benefits.
Brandon Hill, a KCVG employee and ALU-KCVG campaign member, said he feels the company has been caught off guard by the strength of the union’s organization efforts. He said he’s noticed an anti-union campaign at work.
“They frame it as a privacy issue,” Hill said. “They say you don't have to share your information with a union organizer, right? Because then maybe your information could get leaked, right? We can use the same argument against Amazon.”
“I have had people who work directly around me get fired for being in this effort,” Hill said.
The union says one example is Griffin Ritze. The former air hub employee is on the union organizing committee and was fired last week.
“They said that I was self-assigning and off task by simply asking my manager if I could attend one of these anti-union information sessions, and that's why they fired me,” he said.
Ritze said the human resources office cited five different dates.
In a response Wednesday, Amazon said Ritze's termination was not related to his union support but because of his multiple documented warnings and violations of Amazon policy. The company also said he was in violation of timekeeping policies and had the ability to appeal his termination.
Ritze said he is appealing the decision through Amazon and has also filed charges through the National Labor Relations Board.
”If the union is so ineffective, if we can't win, then why would Amazon fight so hard?” Ritze said while speaking to a group at Florence Christian Church Activity Center. “Why are they so scared?”
“We know our rights. We're not going to back down, and we're going to take on this company to the very end,” he said.
