The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it passed a resolution today to focus on unionizing Amazon across the U.S.

In April this year, workers at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, chose not to unionize in what was called a historic union election. If that had gone the other way, it would have been the first Amazon warehouse to unionize, likely causing others to follow.

For a long time, reports have surfaced criticizing Amazon for various issues from safety to how it deals with workers who have complained about working conditions. Recent safety reports didn’t look good for the company, although it seems Amazon has been addressing the issue.

Still, Teamsters obviously thinks this is a good time to step in. Amazon has almost doubled its workforce over the last year, with the company making hay during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns. As more and more working-class people join the company, unionization efforts are bound to come.

Amazon has fought hard in the past to stop it from happening, but with one of the biggest unions in the U.S. getting on board, things might work out differently. Teamsters said its “Amazon Project” will provide “all resources necessary” to make Amazon unions a reality.

“Amazon presents a massive threat to working-class communities and good jobs in the logistics industry,” Randy Korgan, national director of the Amazon Project, said in a statement. “Amazon workers are calling for safer and better working conditions, and with today’s resolution, we are activating the full force of our union to support them.”

In its resolution, Teamsters said Amazon is “failing the working class,” stating that the company has disrupted industries while engaging in anticompetitive behavior. That will resonate right now with the public after the House Judiciary Committee just passed six antitrust bills aimed to curtail such practices by what we now regard as tech monopolies.

Nonetheless, in an interview with Motherboard, Korgan said the project was in the pipeline prior to Amazon’s expansion and the failed attempt to unionize the Alabama warehouse. He said after rigorous planning, now a dedicated Amazon Division is set to take on the “threat” that Amazon poses.

“In my more than two decades of service as Teamsters General President, I’ve yet to see a threat quite like the one Amazon presents to hardworking people, small businesses, the logistics industry, and our nation’s middle class,” Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, son of notorious former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa, said in a statement.

Amazon has yet to comment on the matter, although one would think given the size, background and wealth of the Teamsters, an almighty battle is about to take place.

Photo: Pete/Flickr