Union withdraws petition for vote at Amazon warehouse in New Jersey

It would have been the fourth union election at a U.S. warehouse

An Amazon facility in Hamilton, Ontario. (Nick Iwanyshyn/Reuters)

A union has withdrawn a petition to hold an election at an Amazon warehouse in New Jersey, just a day after qualifying to hold a vote.

The vote would have marked the fourth union election at an Amazon warehouse in the United States, riding on the momentum of a successful vote to unionize at the company’s large facility on Staten Island. That vote, led by the independent Amazon Labor Union, made history as the first successful union election at an Amazon warehouse in the country.

But the unionization efforts at a small delivery center in Bayonne, N.J., are on hold.

Steven Kern, a lawyer for the International Brotherhood of Trade Unions, said in an email Tuesday that the union would withdraw its application. Kern did not offer details on why the union decided not to pursue the petition.

The National Labor Relations Board confirmed that the union has filed to withdraw its petition.

Labor experts have suggested that the successful vote on Staten Island could lead to more organizing efforts at warehouses across the country. Workers at a second, smaller warehouse on Staten Island will vote on whether to join the Amazon Labor Union next week.