Workers at a sprawling Amazon warehouse outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, have taken their first formal step forward in their fight to organize the facility. For more than two and a half years, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE) has been organizing to educate workers and build popular support for unionization at the 2 million square foot fulfillment center, known as RDU1. Now, CAUSE believe it’s gained the momentum necessary to advance its campaign: On Labor Day, organizers launched a union drive.

Over the next year, CAUSE must get at least 30 percent of an estimated 5,000 workers to sign union authorization cards, which are needed to file for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). While the road to establishing a union — and ultimately securing a fair contract — is long, the RDU1 union drive is a sign that workers’ push for fair pay and dignity will continue until conditions improve.

RDU1 workers, who are predominantly Black and Brown, are fighting for a $30 an hour starting wage, paid sick leave and a one-hour lunch break. In 2022, CAUSE organizers detailed some of their complaints to the progressive news outlet More Perfect Union, including unrealistic performance standards that led to coworkers passing out on the warehouse floor, unfair write-ups from managers who have to meet disciplinary quotas, and termination after missing work for life emergencies.

In recent years, there has been a growing push by workers and unions to “organize the South,” a region rife with anti-labor laws and politicians openly hostile to unionization.........

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