Amazon's warehouse workers in Staten Island file petition for union election

The independent group is being led by employee-turned-activist Chris Smalls.

A coalition of Amazon warehouse workers in New York City have officially filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday.

Kayla Blado, the press secretary for the National Labor Relations Board, confirmed to ABC News on Monday that the union petition was filed in the NLRB's Region 29. The petition must now go through the NLRB's formal representation election process before a vote will be held.

The group of workers, which calls themselves the Amazon Labor Union, are being led by a former fulfillment center employee of the e-commerce giant, Chris Smalls. He became the face of the labor movement at Amazon when he was fired under contentious circumstances at the beginning of the pandemic after organizing a demonstration over working conditions amid the health crisis.

The milestone comes some six months after a high-profile union bid by Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, who sought to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The unionization efforts garnered support from lawmakers and even President Joe Biden. Ultimately, however, the election resulted in the Alabama workers overwhelmingly voting not to form a union -- though the RWDSU has accused Amazon of union-busting techniques -- Amazon denies this -- and has filed objections over the election with the NLRB.