A group of Amazon warehouse workers just voted to form a union. But the battle is not over.

Amazon issued a response Friday following the results of a historic unionization effort at an Amazon warehouse facility in Staten Island, N.Y., where employees voted 2,654 to 2,131 to join the Amazon Labor Union, an organization led by a former employee who was fired after leading a walkout over COVID-19 work conditions at the facility.

“We’re disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees,” Amazon said in its statement. “We’re evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) witnessed in this election.”

The NLRB, or National Labor Relations Board, oversaw the election in Staten Island.

Amazon’s objections may depend on a lawsuit the NLRB filed last month. NLRB sued Amazon in an attempt to reinstate a fired employee at the Staten Island warehouse.

In its statement Friday, Amazon included a letter from the National Retail Federation sent to lawmakers Friday, asking to investigate NLRB’s suit against the company. “The suit gives the appearance of an overt attempt to influence the outcome of the pending election,” the letter notes. Amazon has partnered with NRF before on lobbying efforts.

Amazon also links to a blog post from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about the lawsuit that described NLRB’s action as a “shenanigan” and “curiously timed.”

C.M. Lewis, an editor at nonprofit labor newsletter Strikewave, tweeted that Amazon has “an appeal route that goes to the Supreme Court” that could overturn the election and “set a disastrous legal precedent.”

Charlotte Garden, an associate professor at the Seattle University School of Law who is an expert in labor and employment law, told GeekWire that once the NLRB certifies the union’s win in Staten Island, Amazon has a legal obligation to come to the table and bargain in good faith.

“But the penalties for companies that fail to meet their obligations are extremely weak, and Amazon will be motivated to draw things out as much as possible,” Garden noted.

Garden added: “That means achieving a contract will likely come down to the workers’ own ability to exert their collective power, together with the support they receive from the community. Relatedly, Amazon characterizes itself as a progressive, high-road employer, and refusing to genuinely work towards a contract would highlight how the company fails to live up to that ideal.”

Amazon, which employs 1.1 million people in the U.S., has fought hard against the union momentum. The company has held mandatory meetings and launched an anti-union website, among other tactics. CNBC reported that Amazon hired an influential Democratic polling firm.

Amazon is also facing a separate unionization effort at a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. The vote in Alabama is the second effort to unionize at the Bessemer facility.

The call for a second election came after the NLRB said it found Amazon “interfered with the employees’ exercise of a free and reasoned choice by creating the appearance of irregularity in the election procedure.” The NLRB said a mailbox was installed outside Amazon’s main entrance and employees were improperly polled about their support for a union during mandatory meetings.

In August, a NLRB hearing officer ruled that Amazon stepped outside allowable guidelines and improperly pressured Bessemer warehouse workers against unionizing the warehouse. That officer recommended in a report that the election should be redone.

Margaret O’Mara, a historian, author and University of Washington professor who specializes in the history of tech and politics, told GeekWire that Amazon has sought to reduce turnover, increase efficiency, and head off union drives by raising pay and increasing benefits.

“But Staten Island shows that paying $18/hour may not be enough to compensate for a workplace built for efficiency and speedy delivery to customers, at the cost of some workers’ health and security,” O’Mara said.

The entire tech industry may be impacted from this week’s events, O’Mara said.

“The industry came of age in an era when union power was diminishing and labor law was being eroded in favor of employer-friendly laws and regulations at both the state and federal level,” she explained. “Reliance on a low-cost, non unionized labor force is now baked into the business models of many different kinds of tech companies, whether rideshare companies or hardware manufacturers or e-retailers like Amazon.”