Federal Judge Rules for Union as Amazon
Teamsters Campaign Grows Stronger
ERLANGER, Ky., Aug. 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters scored a
key victory in the union's national fight to organize workers at
Amazon after a federal judge ruled the Teamsters are allowed to
picket the massive Amazon Air Hub without interference at the
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
The air cargo hub, known as KCVG, shares the same property with
DHL, home to thousands of ramp and tug and sort workers actively
organizing and winning contracts with the Teamsters.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky said Wednesday that the Kenton County
Airport Board, which controls KCVG, could not restrict workers'
right to free speech. The same board had earlier blocked
demonstrations by the Teamsters against Amazon, prompting the
union's request for an injunction.
"This is a significant victory for Amazon workers in
Northern Kentucky and around the
country who are sick of being silenced by this trillion-dollar
corporation. Amazon workers everywhere are coming together to
become Teamsters and win the rights and protections they deserve,"
said Teamsters General President Sean M.
O'Brien. "You can be sure the Teamsters will carry this
precedent to other communities around the country where Amazon is
exploiting loopholes and breaking laws to take advantage of workers
and inflate its bottom line. Our union of 1.3 million hardworking
members applaud the court for doing the right thing in this
case."
Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville has been meeting with Amazon
workers and organizing pickets and other rallies around KCVG this
summer. A permit filed by the local was denied in July after the
airport board told the Teamsters the roadside site was not approved
for demonstrations. In this week's ruling, the District Court
ordered the board to allow the union to picket on sidewalks and
other public easements around KCVG.
More than 100 Amazon drivers in Skokie, Illinois, went on strike last month
over the company's unfair labor practices, and have been organizing
with other Amazon workers to extend their picket lines to warehouse
and driver facilities in New York
and California. In June, 5,500
members of the Amazon Labor Union voted to affiliate with the
Teamsters by a near unanimous 98.3 percent. The labor affiliation
brings powerful resources to Amazon warehouse workers as they
organize and demand strong first contracts. ALU-IBT Local 1, newly
chartered by the Teamsters, will represent workers at JFK8 in
Staten Island, N.Y.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto
Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information.
Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook
at Facebook.com/teamsters.
Kara Deniz, (202)
497-6610
kdeniz@teamster.org
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters