UK Immigrant Workers May Win Europe’s First Amazon Union
In Coventry, England, 3,000 Amazon workers — most of them immigrants — just voted on whether to unionize. If the workers vote yes, they would be the first Amazon warehouse workers in Europe to win a union.
The GMB trade union holding a rally outside Amazon HQ in support of Amazon workers in Coventry on July 8, 2024. (Kristian Buus / In Pictures via Getty Images)
Three thousand Amazon workers at a warehouse in the United Kingdom are poised to become the first recognized Amazon union in Europe.
Workers at fulfillment center BHX4 in Coventry, central England, cast votes July 8–13 for the GMB union to negotiate over pay, hours, and working conditions with the Amazon bosses. The results are expected July 17.
The watershed vote comes after a long, bruising battle; Amazon tried US-style stalling and union-busting tactics. Meanwhile the workers have taken thirty-seven days of strike action in two years. They’ve grown their union to fourteen hundred members, established a stewards network, and built multiethnic solidarity. In the UK, workers can become dues-paying members before union recognition is attained.
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