Amazon workers at the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to elect reformists in the Amazon Labor Union’s first-ever leadership election, a dissident group announced Tuesday, more than a year after it sued top leadership to force a vote.Connor Spence, a key reformist and ALU co-founder, was elected president of the union, now known as ALU – International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 1 after members voted to affiliate with the Teamsters earlier this summer. Brima Sylla, Kathleen Cole and Sultana Hossain — all members of the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus — were respectively elected vice president, secretary-treasurer and recording secretary.Christian Smalls, the embattled union president and ALU co-founder who led workers to defy the odds to become the first unionized Amazon shop in the country, did not run for election. The reform caucus trounced the Smalls-backed slate, sweeping all 15 top leadership spots, including the four seats on the union’s executive board.At the heart of the dispute between the reformists and Smalls are disagreements over organizing strategies. The reformers believed that Smalls was pushing unionizing elections at other facilities and using the then-independent union’s minimal resources at the expense of securing a first contract at JFK8. More than two years after workers voted to form the ALU, they have yet to meet Amazon management at the bargaining table.“We are extremely dedicated to this goal of asserting our collective worker power to force Amazon to negotiate with us for better pay, better benefits, better working conditions, safer working conditions,” said Hossain. “It’s not going to be an easy struggle, but it’s a struggle that we are in for the long run, and Amazon needs to watch out, because we’re coming.”An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the results.Amazon Labor Union leader Christian Smalls speaks at the worker rally. Credit: Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITYThough official results have not been released as of Wednesday, turnout was reportedly dismal. Only 250 workers out of 5,500 eligible members cast their ballots, Labor Notes reported, a number Hossain confirmed to THE CITY.Low turnout was partly to blame because the election was held by mail-in ballots, as ordered by a court-appointed neutral monitor, against the wishes of the reform caucus and rank-and-file members. All other elections, from the 2022 unionization vote to the Teamsters affiliation to a recent referendum, were done in-person, she said. Members voted via mail ballots from July 8 until July 29.“Our main goal is to activate all of the members and get our union back on track,” said Hossain. “Now we can focus on bringing Amazon to the bargaining table without any other distractions,” and win a first contract, she added.The official election results will be posted after Aug. 6, once members have the opportunity to contest any ballots.The reformists ran on a platform of improving union democracy and promised sweeping changes, from creating a system of stewards, allowing members to vote and approve budgets and expanding the number of rank-and-file elected officials.Coupled with the affiliation agreement with the Teamsters, the election marks a new chapter for a union that in recent months has been mired in infighting and financial woes. Despite its historic victory in April 2022, the ALU has struggled to organize additional warehouses, including a neighboring facility known as LDJ5.Amazon, which has spent millions of dollars on union-busting consultants since 2021, has lost multiple appeals seeking to overturn the 2022 JFK8 union election results. The Seattle-based retail giant is one of several companies — including SpaceX and Trader Joe’s – arguing in legal filings that the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that oversees union elections and certain labor disputes, is unconstitutional. This month, a years-long U.S. Senate investigation led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I – VT) found that the company’s annual Prime Day sales event is a “major cause” of workplace injuries, finding that 45 out of 100 workers were injured during that period in 2019. Amazon said the Senate’s findings were “misleading.” DONATE to THE CITY The post Reform Slate Sweeps Amazon Labor Union Elections in Defeat for Celebrated Co-Founder appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News.First published by THE CITY – NYC News.