New York (AP) — A group consisting of former leaders of the newly formed union that organized an Amazon warehouse in New York is taking legal action against the union. They claim that the union violated its own constitution and are requesting that the court mandate an election for union officers.
The complaint was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York. This comes at a time when the Amazon Labor Union, the only officially certified group representing Amazon workers, is struggling to regain the momentum that led to its unexpected victory last year after facing several setbacks.
Since that triumph, the group has lost union elections at two other Amazon facilities and has abandoned efforts at a third warehouse in California. Some prominent members have quietly resigned or left due to internal conflicts and disagreements.
There have also been media reports of a physical altercation between union president Chris Smalls and a former member of the group. Another prominent leader, Derrick Palmer, resigned in May after it was revealed that he had been arrested last year for aggravated assault in a domestic violence incident.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been challenging the union’s initial win and has not yet engaged in negotiations with them.
In the complaint, the splinter group, known as the A.L.U. Democratic Reform Caucus, which includes the union’s co-founder and former treasurer, Connor Spence, argues that the union, under the direction of Smalls, made changes to its constitution without allowing members to vote on it. One of the changes mentioned in the complaint is the refusal to hold officer elections, which should have been scheduled no later than March 2023.
The ALU revised its constitution a month before being certified by the National Labor Relations Board in January. The revision stated that internal elections would take place within 90 days after the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement with Amazon, a process that could potentially take years.
The reform group also accuses the union of threatening disciplinary action against those who voiced opposition and claims that the union created internal chaos in an attempt to suppress democratic dissent.
Chris Smalls has not yet responded to a request for comment. In a letter to the splinter group on Friday, ALU attorney Jeanne Mirer dismissed the claims as “frivolous.”
Brett Daniels, an organizer with the splinter group, stated that the caucus was established to “ensure democracy” but is still part of the union.
This spring, members of the reform group, which has over 40 members, circulated a petition at the Staten Island warehouse in an effort to prompt an officer election. The petition received nearly 1,000 signatures, according to the complaint.
The two sides attempted to resolve their issues through mediation during the summer, but according to the complaint, the union’s executive board backed out at the end of June.
The splinter group is now seeking a court order to compel the union to hold an election for officers on or before August 30.