After a breakthrough election victory at Amazon, the Amazon Labor Union fell far short of winning enough votes to unionize a second warehouse on Staten Island in New York. The vote was 618 votes against the union to 380 votes in favor. Roughly 1,600 workers were eligible to vote in the election, which was held in-person over four days last week. It's the second of four Amazon warehouses on Staten Island that organizers had set their sights on. "We're glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard," said Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel in a statement, referring to the warehouse that voted. "We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees." The tally comes as a disappointment to the Amazon Labor Union, an upstart group founded by former warehouse supervisor Chris Smalls and his co-worker Derrick Palmer, who still works inside the massive fulfillment center that voted in favor of the union last month with 55% percent of the votes. Some 8,300 workers are employed at that warehouse. As today's vote count was underway, the Amazon Labor Union tweeted, "No matter the outcome of the election, workers are uniting for change at LDJ5, JFK8 & around the world," referring to the two warehouses on Staten Island that have voted so far. The Amazon Labor Union has been calling for higher wages, longer breaks, and better health and safety policies. Last week, Amazon met one of the union's demands by making permanent a pandemic-era policy of allowing workers to keep their cell phones with them while they work. The company had indicated it planned to roll back the policy, which was intended to give workers a way to communicate with their families around personal emergencies. Meanwhile, Amazon has continued its anti-union messaging to workers, arguing through so-called "captive audience" meetings that they'd be better off dealing directly with Amazon rather than through a union. The company is also aggressively seeking to overturn the results of the first Staten Island election.

1. As an HR what are your overall thoughts on the article?

2. What impact do you think this will have on organized labor?

3. Do you expect amazon to eventually unionize?