2,000 Amazon workers in New York to seek federal authorisation on union

Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island, the southernmost of New York’s boroughs, have signed a call for unionisation.

The move is a red rag for the retail behemoth having a turnover of $386 billion in 2020.

The organisers said their plan on Monday is to ask federal labour officials to authorise a union vote.

The push is barely 12 miles from Wall Street, to some the heart of global capitalism.

It ratchets up growing unionisation efforts at Amazon, at 950,000 folks, the second-largest private employer in the US after Walmart.

“We intend to fight for higher wages, job security, safer working conditions, more paid time off, better medical leave options, and longer breaks,” Amazon Labor Union (ALU) said on Thursday.