Amazon

Amazon has fired two employees with ties to the grassroots union that led the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history.

Amazon warehouse workers rejected a union bid on Monday, dealing a blow to organizers who last month pulled off the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history.

The nascent Amazon Labor Union, has said it wants longer breaks for warehouse employees, more time off and a dramatically higher minimum hourly wage of $30, up from just over $18 per hour.

A stunning upset in a union election on Staten Island had brought sudden exposure to the organizers and worker advocates who realized victory for the nascent Amazon Labor Union, which is now preparing to negotiate for a labor contract. But experts say Amazon will likely drag its feet.

Amazon workers on Staten Island, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history.

A federal labor board says a second Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island will have a union election in April.

More than 60 workers across three Amazon delivery stations staged a walkout on Wednesday to demand a $3 raise and a return to 20-minute breaks, according to one of the labor organizers leading the effort.

A former Amazon employee who is leading a push to unionize a New York City warehouse of the online retailer was arrested along with two others after authorities got a complaint about him trespassing.

The battle to unionize Amazon workers is intensifying after labor officials officially set a date for a union election in a Staten Island facility next month.