At least seven pro-union managers fired by Amazon in Staten Island this week

Amazon fired seven managers from a warehouse this week, just one month after the same managers helped lead a successful effort to unionize.

The New York Times reported this weekend that leaders at the Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, which voted to unionize last month in a landmark victory for workers, terminated at least seven managers from the warehouse this week in what the workers view as retaliation for their pro-union efforts prior to the vote last month.

Some of the managers who were terminated had supposedly been with the company for more than six years, and all of them were involved in the Amazon response to the unionization efforts.

The firings are suspicious because they occurred outside Amazon’s normal employee review period, and those fired had overwhelmingly received positive performance reviews during the official period. Warehouse officials say the firings came after an extensive several-week review of the warehouse’s operations and leadership, and the decision to terminate the managers is part of a reorganization.

“Part of our culture at Amazon is to continually improve, and we believe it’s important to take time to review whether or not we’re doing the best we could be for our team,” said an Amazon spokesperson.

Workers, however, do not believe the firings are a coincidence. Amazon has been vocal about its sentiments regarding workers unionizing. During the successful organizational effort to unionize at the Staten Island warehouse, leadership posted anti-union posters in the workplace and created a website that encouraged workers not to unionize.

“Right now, the ALU is trying to come between our relationship with you,” the website reads. “They think they can do a better job advocating for you than you are doing for yourself.”