Upstart Amazon Union Pauses NYC Campaign as Momentum Fades

After winning a historic victory at an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in New York earlier this year, the fledgling Amazon Labor Union vowed to take the battle to three more company facilities nearby. Things haven’t gone according to plan. The group lost an election at a warehouse across the street from the first and has paused efforts to organize the other two.

The retreat reflects the travails of a grassroots organization struggling to secure its gains against a legal onslaught from one the world’s richest and most powerful companies. Amazon has appealed the election and zeroed in on what it deems illegal ALU tactics—including handing out marijuana to workers—that could ultimately prompt US labor officials to order a do-over election.