Newsday does on piece on the last minute talks between The New York Governor, Two New York labor guys and top management of Amazon….
The group , it’s reported, had settled on a ‘frame work’ for possible union acceptance of workers at the Amazon Long Island City , Queens headquarters campus….
Everyone shook hands….
The union guys where not excited…..
They did not get a ok…they got a maybe…..
An hour and half later?
New York Governor Cuomo received a phone call….
There would be NO Deal…..
The word was ….someone at the very top, I presume (CEO Jeff) Bezos, said, ‘We don’t talk to people, we tell them.’
Cuomo, who once joked that he’d change his first name to Amazon if it would seal the deal, was told Wednesday night that the deal was off. He was “beyond furious,” one source said.
The next morning, the news became public.
In a 360-word statement, Amazon said, “The commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.”
The news rocked Albany, even those close to the project.
“Our lawyers were working on language,” Appelbaum recalled. “Then someone at the very top, I presume (CEO Jeff) Bezos, said, ‘We don’t talk to people, we tell them.’
“They created a process that was doomed to fail,” Appelbaum said. “It revealed they didn’t want to listen.”
Note….
Something NY Gov. Cuomo should have been aware of….
Amazon workers in Staten Island NY have been pressing for a union.…
Amazon is NOT a union company….
One doesn’t know this …But?
Bezo and senior management HAD to know that along with the Staten Island union push?
New York City would giving Amazon workers a open door to unionize all over the country….
The company could have been more worried about THAT they the political stuff…..
image….nydailynews.com