Ticker: Worker bid to unionize at Amazon in NY dropped; 16 towns share $3M in grants

The National Labor Relations Board has confirmed that a group of Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York has withdrawn its petition to hold a vote to unionize.

The move comes less than two weeks before the labor board was expected to hold a hearing to determine whether there was sufficient interest to form a union at the Amazon distribution center.

NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado declined to elaborate the reason for the pullback. But she noted workers can refile a petition.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an emailed statement that “our focus remains on listening directly to our employees and continuously improving on their behalf.”

16 towns share $3M in grants

More than a dozen small towns in Massachusetts are sharing a total of $3 million in state grants to support local projects from improving wastewater treatment facilities to updating a 70-year-old fire station.

The Rural and Small Town Development Fund grants announced in Montague go to communities with fewer than 7,000 residents or a population density of less than 500 people per square mile.

Sixteen towns are getting grants ranging from $24,000 to $400,000.

Williamstown’s $400,000 grant will be used to help with the redesign of a fire station built in 1950 so it meets national standards and improves response times.

The other communities that got grants were Avon, Cummington, Eastham, Edgartown, Erving, Hopedale, Lincoln, Montague, Orange, Princeton, Tisbury, Topsfield, Truro, Westport and Whately.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3wZ6lkB