NKY Amazon workers take effort to unionize company's largest air hub national
This article will be updated throughout the day.
The effort to unionize workers at the largest Amazon Air Hub in the world is going national. Local organizers with Unionize Amazon Northern Kentucky KCVG plan to announce today that they're joining forces with the national Amazon Labor Union, which unionized a Staten Island facility last year. They're also beginning to collect union authorization cards, which include signatures from employees confirming they want to take the issue to a vote.
Chris Smalls, president of the Amazon Labor Union, is slated to speak at a rally near the Hebron air hub this afternoon, approximately at 4 p.m. Smalls was fired from Amazon for his unionization efforts, he says. Amazon officials have previously denied that allegation.
However, the timing of his speech and the rally are in the air after organizers allege that Amazon has launched intimidation tactics against the workers. That includes having new ID checkpoints at entryways to the air hub facility and denying any members of the public or media to be on property.
Volunteer Greyson Van Arsdale confirmed, however, that Smalls was able to make it inside the facility.
About two dozen volunteers have rallied at the site since this morning, though, more are expected to arrive for the rally. While workers can rally inside the facility, the general public will rally at 460 Day One Drive.
Unionize Amazon Northern Kentucky KCVG was founded late last year by a group of about two dozen employees. Workers are demanding a $30-an-hour starting wage, 180 hours of paid time off annually with no cap on accrued time and union representation against discipline.
The National Labor Relations Board will hold an election allowing every hourly worker the right to participate in a vote to unionize, if enough union authorization cards are signed, a statement from the organization says. KCVG workers would then form a new local of the Amazon Labor Union through a simple majority vote.
Other attempts to unionize Amazon facilities have failed in places like Albany, NY and Alabama.
Amazon is expected to release a statement about the unionization effort soon.
The $1.5 billion Amazon Air Hub spans over 600 acres and processes millions of packages a week. Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos attended the 2019 groundbreaking in Kentucky, driving a front loader to scoop and drop dirt at the site. The air hub opened in August of 2021.
Amazon is one of the largest employers in the world and claims it has created more jobs over the past decade than any U.S. company.