Two Amazon union elections defied expectations last week, part of increased labor activity across the US.

A vote in Staten Island, New York, produced the first unionized Amazon workplace in the US.

Aseparate votethatrejected unionizing in Alabamawas less conclusive, with enough challenged votes remaining uncounted to potentially change the outcome.

After the defeat,the union allegedthat Amazon had interfered with that vote.

The earlier Bessemer election kicked off a year of increased labor organization across the country.

An additional Staten Island facility is seeking to unionize.

On Friday, workers at a New York City Starbucks storebecame the latest to vote to unionize.

The company also reiterated the same stance it has taken on unions since the organizing drives began in 2020.

Many of the ongoing labor efforts were brewing before the original Bessemer election.

“The fact that it failed almost didn’t seem to matter,” MacDonald said.

“People were still talking about it.”

With a union win in New York and a much closer election in Alabama, that buzz is growing.

How many Amazon warehouses have considered joining a union?

Workers at three Amazon locations have formally petitioned for union elections with the federal government.

Vote-by-mail ballots for a redo election went out to Amazon workers in Alabama in February.

Workers at the first Staten Island warehousevoted in person at their workplaceover six consecutive days in March.

Amazon also sends messages to workers' phones and places signs throughout warehouses, urging workers to vote no.

Amazon says the meetings are for the benefit of employees.

What complaints do pro-union Amazon workers have?

The Alabama and New York workers have overlapping concerns, but the union pushes have different origins.

Regulators in Washington State recently said Amazon’s quota practices are directly responsible forcausing high rates of musculoskeletal injuries.

After the companyfired or disciplined employeeswho planned walkouts, workers created the Amazon Labor Union.

Did Amazon’s 2021 union election set off an organizing boom?

The unionizing efforts at Amazon signaled a sea change, labor experts say.

That Amazon’s union election came first is no surprise, given long-standing criticisms of its warehouse working conditions.

Starbucks and REI are different, saysKirthi Kalyanam, director of the Retail Management Institute at Santa Clara University.

Both companies have made being a great workplace a part of their brands.

Taken altogether, the union efforts show that workers everywhere want more, Kalyanam says.

“People really reevaluated what work means to them.”

How unlikely were last week’s results?

The odds were against the unions.

In Bessemer, the RWDSUlost by a wide marginduring the 2021 election.

Labor law requires a show of support from 30% of workers to qualify for a vote.

After winning on Friday, the union said the unorthodox move was strategic.

Filing quickly also avoided losing supporters to the high rates of turnover seen in Amazon’s warehouse workforce.

What other labor activism is taking place at Amazon locations?

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in 2021 thatorganizing Amazon workersis its top priority.

The union hasn’t filed any petitions for elections so far.

The group has demanded raises and paid sick time.