Influencers push labor board to force Amazon to bargain with union
A group of youth activists called Gen-Z for Change with 1.8 million TikTok followers is turning its attention to an unlikely target: the National Labor Relations Board.
The youth activism group launched an email-writing campaign Thursday aimed at pressuring the federal agency to force Amazon to negotiate with the labor union that won an election at a Staten Island warehouse in 2022.
“Amazon workers voted to unionize two years ago and they still don’t have a contract,” Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen-Z for Change, said in a TikTok video posted Thursday. “Why? Because Amazon refuses to come to the table and negotiate one with their workers.”
Since the union victory in New York, Amazon has not recognized or begun bargaining with the Amazon Labor Union. Union members and social media influencers are increasingly demanding that the agency issue a bargaining order that would force Amazon to the table.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previously, the company has said that “we strongly disagree with the outcome of the election” in Staten Island and “don’t believe it represents what the majority of our team wants.” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.
Earlier this week, the Amazon Labor Union, which has struggled to maintain momentum in the two years since its landmark win, announced that it would officially affiliate with the Teamsters union. The Teamsters, who represent drivers and delivery workers and have courted Amazon workers for years, offer the upstart labor organization financial resources and industry expertise.
On Thursday, the Instagram account of Gen-Z for Change shared a post by the Teamsters union that said, “Amazon workers need a union, and the Teamsters will ensure they have one.”
Gen-Z for Change, called TikTok for Biden before it changed its name in January 2021, has organized campaigns around progressive issues including climate, labor and abortion access. Donors include the Service Employees International Union, Movement Voter Project, Omidyar Network and Patagonia, the group told The Post.
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The group’s first anti-Amazon “People over Prime” campaign began in August 2022, when the activists urged social media influencers not to promote Amazon products and to stop taking affiliate marketing money from the company.
At the time, Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls said he appreciated the effort. The new email-writing campaign aimed at the NRLB is a collaborative effort between the two groups.
“It’s been two years since our historic win, and the [NLRB] has yet to issue our bargaining order,” Smalls said in a text message, referring to a filing that could force Amazon to negotiate. “There’s nothing stopping them — and they shouldn’t allow Amazon to continue bullying them with frivolous appeals.”
People who encounter Gen-Z for Change content on TikTok, X and Instagram will be directed to a website that will automatically generate an email they can send to the NLRB.
“We strongly call upon the NLRB to fulfill its pledge and issue a bargaining order to bring Amazon to the table,” one version of that email says. “We cannot allow Amazon to bully its way into appeals and lasting court battles.”
In court filings, Amazon has argued that the election in Staten Island should be invalidated because the NLRB unfairly favored the union. Amazon also claims that the agency itself is unconstitutional, an argument previously used by lawyers for Trader Joe’s and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
If President Biden loses his reelection bid in November, the new administration could appoint leadership of the agency that would be more lenient toward companies like Amazon.
