Amazon pulled up for Labour Law Violations

Asked to remind workers of their rights; to compensate the Union Leader

The MNC as of now faces more than 240 settled or open unfair labour practice charges across 26 states, according to a report of the NLRB, and has been clashing lately with its workers’ Union.

Introduction:

Unionisation of workers while aiming to ease their lives can bring with it its own set of complications and challenges.

This is apparent in the case of Amazon.com, Inc (“Amazon”), which has been locked in a legal battle with its workers’ union-Amazon Labor Union (“ALU”) and has been additionally pulled up by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) for alleged Labour Law Violations.

Facts:

Employees in Amazon voted to join the ALU in April 2022 and joined what is called the first Labor Union in the American MNC.

Ever since it has been trying to get Amazon to sign a contract with them.

Amazon however, refused to do so and challenged the results of the ALU elections in JFK8, its warehouse in Staten Island, New York.

It has been accused of threatening employees’s and relentlessly questioning them.

It has been further accused of illegally confiscating organising pamphlets which were being distributed in on-site breakrooms and additionally conducting surveillance on its employees’ organising activities.

It has also been accused of interfering with Union elections of the Wholesale, Retail, and Departmental Store in its BHM1 warehouse in Alabama.

Additionally, it has been alleged that Amazon sent home one of its employees in its JFK 8 facility early from his shift, changing his work assignments and later firing him.

It has also been accused of indulging in other anti-union activities and spending roughly $14 million on them. It had hired a "union avoidance" officer who tried to dissuade the workers from joining the ALU by calling its membership “futile”.

Also, the company had a clash with Chris Smalls, the leader of ALU.

A leaked memo revealed that David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel had referred to Smalls as “not smart or articulate”.

Judgment:

Consequently, Amazon will be required to post notices at its JFK8 and DYY6 Facilities. The company must also make Smith “whole for any loss of earnings and other benefits,” as per the NLRB.

Conclusion:

On an average, it takes 465 days for a Labor/Workers Union to get a contract signed by the organization that they work for. This is often a result of the delays deliberately caused by the organizations.

The workers and the organization/company should share a symbiotic relationship.

They should try to reach a middle path in case of a conflict.

There should be adequate safeguards for both the workers’ unions and the employers.

Employees should give their best for the betterment of the Company and the Company should also realise that profits go hand in hand with the employees’ well-being.

Author: Tarushi Tewari, in case of any queries please contact/write back to us via email to chhavi@khuranaandkhurana.com or at  Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorney.

References:

Annie Palmer, ‘Amazon broke federal labor law by calling Staten Island union organizers ‘thugs,’ interrogating workers’ cnbc.com, 1st December 2023

Annie Palmer, ‘Amazon union victory at Staten Island warehouse upheld by federal labor board’ cnbc.com, 11th January 2023.

Annie Palmer ‘Amazon workers on Staten Island vote for the company’s first unionized warehouse in US’ cnbc.com. 1st April 2023

Annie Palmer, 'Amazon broke federal labor law by calling Staten Island union organizers ‘thugs,’ interrogating workers’ cnbc.com, 1st December 2023

Annie Palmer, ‘Amazon union victory at Staten Island warehouse upheld by federal labor board’ cnbc.com, 11th January 2023

Annie Palmer, ‘Amazon union victory at Staten Island warehouse upheld by federal labor board’ cnbc.com, 11th January 2023