(ERLANGER, Ky.) – 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.
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