Labor Board Says Amazon Illegally Threatened Workers in Union-Busting Campaign

Amazon was accused by the National Labor Relations Board of (NLRB), in a Thursday complaint, of illegally monitoring, interrogating, and threatening unionization employees at its Staten Island warehouse.

The NLRB foundA company representative had made a racist remark to union organizers, calling them “thugs” who were destined to fail. According to the complaint, security guards repeatedly prohibited organizers from distributing union pamphlets and the company “solicited grievances from employees with an express promise to remedy them if they rejected the Union as their bargaining representative.”

These problems were to be addressed, the NLRB ordered that the company will have to train managers and consultants on workers’ rights to form a union. The management will also need to educate workers about their rights and have an NLRB representative present.

“We just hope that Amazon is held accountable,” Amazon Labor Union leader Christian Smalls said. “We hope that other union-busters as well learn their lesson and that workers are encouraged to speak up.”

The Staten Island warehouse was in the middle of a union campaign Fast a year, Faced with roadblocksAlong the way. The company also has Displayed anti-unionThey sent emails and messages to employees warning them about the negative consequences of signing a union card.

Last week, the NLRB saidAfter the Amazon Labor Union filed its petition in December, the workers now have enough signatures to elect a union.

The company has disputed the NLRB’s accusations and claims that they are “false.” However, the company has faced numerousLabor complaintsOver the years, workers such as Jonathan Bailey have claimed that the company harassed them for a year and retaliated against him for organizing other workers.

The NLRB eventually found that Bailey was illegally threatened and interrogated by the company. The case was settled before it went to trial.

It’s common for union-busting companies to break the law, as punishments for illegal union-busting tactics are often mild; as of 2019, U.S. employers were breaking the law in about 42 percentAll union election campaigns. For more information, please visit: trillion-dollar companyAmazon’s punishments for violating labor laws are best described as a slap on your wrist.

Amazon was also subject to discipline last year by federal officials The labor board was founded that the company illegally interfered with the union election in Bessemer, Alabama – a union drive that gained national attention and inspired over 1,000 Amazon workers across the country to contact the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) about unionization.

The company had spent hundreds, if certainly millions, on union-busting consultants and police to end the union drive. The company used many anti-union tactics but the NLRB ruled that they were not. a particular issueAmazon placed a mailbox on its warehouse grounds, likely to monitor employees casting their votes. Multiple cameras were placed around the mailbox to capture images of it.

The NLRB finally ordered A second electionThis week’s starting point for employees at Bessemer

Amazon is currently facing a second vote in union, but the company has remained positive. yet to removeThe mailbox is located on warehouse grounds. Although the mailbox was moved farther away, workers claim that it is still monitored by cameras and patrolled.

“The mailbox’s continued existence on Amazon’s property stands as a stark physical memorial of a tainted election,” said Jennifer Bates, a Bessemer worker, at a RWDSU press conference.