The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest U.S. labor unions, said on Tuesday it had launched a new division dedicated to “uniting” employees of e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc.
Amazon has for decades discouraged attempts among its U.S. employees to organize, showing managers how to identify union activity, raising wages and warning that union dues would cut into pay.
However, employees at the online retailer’s fulfillment center in the borough of Staten Island, known as JFK8, in April voted to form the first union.
“Our new division affords a nationwide network of resources to all Amazon workers, behind the wheel of any truck or hard at work in any facility, to strategize with the union, mobilize in their communities, and succeed together,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Teamsters last year laid out plans to create a company-specific division that would help unionize at the second-largest U.S. private employer.
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