Media that empowers working people – that's how we build a More Perfect Union.

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Ideas

Have a story to tell or idea to share?
Email [email protected]
© 2021 More Perfect Union Action

Together we can build power for working people.

We’re asking questions that really matter, and telling the stories of people who really need to be seen and heard.

You can support our work by donating today.

Amount

Make It Monthly

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Amazon Union Drive Begins at Kentucky Air Hub

Low pay, forced overtime, and arbitrary disciplinary measures have driven workers to organize.

Amazon Air Hub

Low pay, forced overtime, and arbitrary disciplinary measures have driven workers at a massive Amazon air hub in Northern Kentucky to begin organizing a union.

Workers at the KCVG air hub planned to go public with the campaign at 6 am on Thursday with an early morning canvas in the facility’s parking lot. Ready with flyers with QR codes linking to their website, the workers aim to first gather signatures on a petition that demands a $30 starting wage and more paid time off. 

Signing the petition will also signify support for a unionization effort at the air freight facility, which serves as a midway point for packages being shipped across the United States. Organizers tell More Perfect Union that they intend to pursue affiliation with one of several national unions seeking to organize the world’s largest online retailer. Petition signatures are not official NLRB card signatures, which will come later down the line.

The organizing began earlier this fall, after Amazon gave workers raises as low as 50 cents an hour, then picked up pace after the company assigned mandatory overtime through the peak holiday season without the traditional overtime pay.

“The PAs only get paid two bucks more an hour and they’re overseeing their own crews, all the operations, and signing off on FAA paperwork, and I think people are starting to realize we’re being really underpaid for all the work we’re doing,” Griffin Ritze, a cargo tractor driver at the facility and member of the organizing committee, told More Perfect Union. “When they announced all these raises company-wide, it just fell really flat, and then they had the gall to call it a cost of living adjustment raise.”

Pay starts at $18 an hour at the 800,000-square-foot KCVG facility, which opened in 2021 and cost $1.5 billion to build. Nearby Amazon warehouses are being shuttered as more packages fly in and out of the hub, leading to layoffs that offset the promised new jobs at the new hub. 

Amazon “keeps adding fuel to the fire,” said Annie Gilb, who has loaded freight onto planes for the past nine months. The peak pay announcement inflamed a large segment of the workforce, adding urgency and support to the campaign.

“[Organizers] managed to acquire several hundred signatures for that on the day shift alone,” said Jordan Martin, who has worked on the plane ramps for the past year. “I think with everything that’s transpired recently that many people share the same sentiments we do and will be willing to join our cause moving forward.”

KCVG is the latest Amazon facility to experience an uptick in collective action from workers. Last month, workers at another air hub in Moreno Valley, CA submitted and then quickly withdrew their petition for a union election. They were seeking to affiliate with Amazon Labor Union.

Read Unionize Amazon KCVG‘s organizing letter, exclusively obtained by More Perfect Union, below:

Amazon Kentucky Air Hub Letter Page 2
Amazon Kentucky Air Hub Letter Page 3
Amazon Kentucky Air Hub Letter Page 4

The Latest

UAW workers
TRACKER: Which Elected Officials Are Speaking Out For Autoworkers?
Read More
Ted Cruz Rakes in Finance Industry Donations While Cosplaying as a Populist
Read More
Americans Broadly Support the UAW Strike, Regardless of Party
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
This Is The Biggest Threat To Actors & Writers
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Is Public Ownership The Solution To High Utility Bills?
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
We Investigated Roblox: Your Kid’s Favorite Game Is Exploiting Them
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The U.S. Is Finally Taking On Big Pharma
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
This flight attendant works 13 hour days. He’s only paid for 5.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
You’re Paying for Kim Kardashian’s Private Jet Travel. Here’s How.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The Labor Standoff That Could Shut Down The Auto Industry
Read More
The Republicans’ Main Talking Point Against Drug Price Negotiations Comes From a Pharmaceutical Investor
Read More
Uber and Lyft Drivers Challenge the Goliath in Minnesota
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Could America Have A General Strike Like France?
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How Ron DeSantis Let Billionaires Destroy Florida
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Workers Are About To Get Way More Power
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Behind The Billionaire-Led Plot To Undermine The Starbucks Union
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
We Found The Real Leader of the Conservative Movement
Read More
Federal Firefighters Facing $20,000 Pay Cut In the Middle of Fire Season
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
This New Rule Will Stop Car Dealers from Ripping You Off
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Inside Love is Blind’s Brutal Conditions on Set
Read More