"Amazon workers threaten to unionize over hellish working conditions", 12 December 2018

...Workers at the retail juggernaut's new Staten Island warehouse are threatening to unionize in response to alleged harsh working conditions and shabby treatment by managers.

Employees say they are subject to 12-hour workdays five to six days a week, and claim Amazon never made good on promises to provide buses to and from its $100 million Bloomfield warehouse, which opened earlier this year.

“It takes me four hours every day to get to and from work. Between my work schedule and my commute, I haven’t seen my daughter in weeks,” worker Rashad Long said in a statement...“We have asked the company to provide air conditioning, but the company told us that the robots inside cannot work in the cold weather,”...

Workers are considering organizing with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which also represents employees at Amazon-owned Whole Foods...

The company said it follows state employment laws, and denied Long’s allegations.

“Amazon associates are the heart and soul of our operations, and we respect employees’ right to choose to join or not join a labor union,” said spokeswoman Rachel Lighty.