How New Yorkers beat Amazon in the HQ2 fight

When rumors surfaced last week that Amazon was having second thoughts about its New York headquarters, most observers took it as a bargaining move. Locals were pushing Amazon for more concessions, and if the company seemed ready to walk away, it might take the pressure off. With so much time and money invested, it seemed irrational to simply call it off. For months, local politicians had been pushing Amazon on taxes and unionization. Activists booed executives out of city council meetings while protests circled the proposed construction site. With the mayor and governor bought in, no one thought they could stop the project entirely, but maybe if they made enough noise, they could unionize the janitors in the new buildings or shame Amazon... Continue reading…