A National Labor Relations Board official said on Monday that Amazon violated labor laws by exercising illegal influence over workers’ votes during unionization efforts, recommending that the results of the company’s unionization vote in Alabama be overturned.
The official recommended that the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union’s complaints against Amazon be sustained due to evidence that the company was improperly distributing “vote no” materials while lobbying the influence of supervisors and managers on lower-level employees.
CELEBRITIES AND POLITICIANS CRITICIZE BEZOS AFTER HE THANKED AMAZON EMPLOYEES FOR SPACEFLIGHT
The official also criticized Amazon for its “unilateral decision to cause the United States Postal Service to install a generic unlabeled mail collection box less than 50 feet from the main entrance to its facility, at a location suggested by [Amazon] and immediately beneath the visible surveillance cameras mounted on [Amazon’s] main entrance.”
The location and bizarre design of the ballot collection box muddies the security of the election, and the union argues it may have convinced employees that they were being monitored.
The RWDSU celebrated the step toward a new election.
“The union had charged Amazon with illegal misconduct during the union vote in Bessemer, Alabama,” the RWDSU said in a statement. “In a final step towards a formal decision, the Hearing Officer who presided over the case has determined that Amazon violated labor law; and is recommending that the Regional Director set aside the results of the election and direct a second election.”
Throughout the run-up to the April election, the RWDSU complained that Amazon was suppressing pro-union sentiment and illegally threatening employees.
Now, with the sympathy of the NLRB, the RWDSU is hoping to overturn what they see as an illegitimate election.
“Workers endured an intensive anti-union campaign designed by Amazon to intimidate and interfere with their choice on whether or not to form a union,” the RWDSU continued.
“Today’s recommendation is based on Amazon’s illegal tactics and shows how the company was willing to use any and all tactics, illegal or otherwise, to stop workers from forming a union,” it said. “Workers now await a formal Decision on Objections from the Regional Director, which would include a Direction of a Second Election if the hearing officer’s recommendation is adopted.”
NLRB has released the hearing officer’s recommendation that the Amazon union election be re-done. Main takeaway below: Amazon’s ‘unilateral decision’ to put a USPS box onsite ‘destroyed the laboratory conditions and justifies a second election’ pic.twitter.com/1kZVRJhEuc
— Dave Jamieson (@jamieson) August 3, 2021
“Amazon’s behavior throughout the election process was despicable. Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable,” RWSDU President Stuart Appelbaum said.
Amazon has consistently denied intimidating or threatening its employees over the vote.
“Our employees had a chance to be heard during a noisy time when all types of voices were weighing into the national debate, and at the end of the day, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of a direct connection with their managers and the company,” Amazon told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “Their voice should be heard above all else, and we plan to appeal to ensure that happens.”
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Immediately after Amazon employees voted against unionization, the company released a statement claiming that the election was a clear indication of staff’s own disdain for unions.
“It’s easy to predict the union will say that Amazon won this election because we intimidated employees, but that’s not true,” the tech giant said at the time. “Our employees heard far more anti-Amazon messages from the union, policymakers, and media outlets than they heard from us. And Amazon didn’t win — our employees made the choice to vote against joining a union.”
