Posts tagged Amazon
Apple to shutter its first unionized US store in Maryland
April 12, 2026 // The iPhone maker described the decision as "difficult", citing the departure of several retailers and worsening conditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for the closure. Apple said Towson employees will be eligible to apply for open roles at the company. In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, marking a milestone for unionization at major U.S. corporations such as Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab.
Teamsters Secure UPS Buyout Cap; NLRB Calls Amazon to the Bargaining Table
April 9, 2026 // Under the Driver Choice Program (DCP), UPS employees can opt to receive a $150,000 payment to accept early retirement from the company. The severance package would also include retirement benefits earned over their tenure, including pension and healthcare... The NLRB and Amazon have had an ongoing feud as unionization efforts across the company have popped up. In a separate complaint filed in September 2024, the Seattle-based Big Tech firm alleged that the NLRB improperly influenced the 2022 Staten Island election, and said the board’s structure was unconstitutional. That suit is still pending.
Potential Falsehoods by the Teamsters Create Opening for Reliable Union Elections
March 30, 2026 // Because in later testimony, BTS employees testified that the lead organizer who claims he was on site soliciting cards on April 23 was never there. Nor, workers testified, were any cards at all signed that day. In addition, there were only 40 drivers on hand that morning, not 46. And finally, BTS employed more than 91 drivers and dispatchers, meaning that, even if 46 cards had been signed, that would not constitute a majority. Therefore, if the workers’ testimony is correct, the majority needed to form a union did not exist.
UPS retracts driver buyout option in 13 states under union pressure
March 30, 2026 // United Parcel Service has notified the Teamsters union that it will withdraw its $150,000 buyout program for parcel and linehaul drivers in 13 central states in response to strong protests from local union chiefs, complicating the company’s effort to eliminate 30,000 jobs as it downsizes its network amid a reduction in parcel volume.
UPS Is the Symptom, Not the Disease: How Labor Policy Shapes Long-Run Worker Outcomes
February 18, 2026 // The question, then, is not whether the gains are real, but how the trade-offs unfold. Why do headline-grabbing contracts so often coincide with downsizing, automation, and job losses in sectors governed by exclusive, monopoly bargaining arrangements? When short-run wage gains are secured through monopoly bargaining power, where do the adjustments occur—and who ultimately bears the costs?
Teamsters union sues UPS to block delivery driver buyouts
February 12, 2026 // UPS said it has been engaged with the Teamsters on a voluntary separation plan since early January and didn’t spring any surprise on the union last week. “We are aware of the Teamsters’ response to the voluntary separation program we planned to offer our U.S. full-time drivers and are working to resolve the matter through the legal process. This does not affect our operations, and we will continue to provide the reliable service our customers expect from UPS,” said Genny Bowman, vice president of communications, in a statement to FreightWaves.
States’ substitutes for NLRB falter in court
January 5, 2026 // Troy Nunley, the chief judge in the Eastern District of California, ruled that the bulk of the state statute is in conflict with the National Labor Relations Act and therefore is preempted by federal law. “In some respect, the Board’s inability to fully function due to the lack of quorum shows the NLRA is operating as intended,” wrote Nunley, an Obama appointee. “The Court thus cannot conclude the loss of quorum equates to the NLRB ceding its jurisdiction over any particular matter.”
Amazon Workers Launch Unionization Campaign With Walkout, Picket Line
December 19, 2025 // According to the company, the average base hourly wage is more than $23 for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation employees with total compensation, which includes benefits, of $30 per hour. The company also said that it would be reducing entry-level healthcare costs and copays in 2026, making healthcare more affordable for its employees and their families. “The fact is we already provide much of what the Teamsters are requesting including safe and inclusive workplaces, competitive pay, health benefits on day one, and opportunities for career growth,”
Trump’s Cuts to U.S. Labor Board Leave Festering Disputes and a Power Struggle
December 17, 2025 // “There is no room for parallel or complementary state legislation,” said William B. Cowen, the labor board’s acting general counsel. Mr. Cowen said the agency remained effective despite the lack of a sitting board, because the vast majority of cases are resolved in earlier stages. In the 2024 fiscal year, according to the board’s data, regional offices settled 96 percent of cases that advanced past filing. “I’m not saying that what the board does is unimportant. It’s very important. They decide the most important, the most contentious issues,” Mr. Cowen said. “It is a very small percentage.”
Halted: Federal Judge Stops Enforcement of New York’s ‘NLRB Trigger Bill’
December 5, 2025 // New York federal judge granted Amazon’s bid for a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of recent amendments to the Empire State’s State Employment Relations Act (“SERA”) that would have subjected most private-sector employers within the state to the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”). Prior to passage of the “NLRB Trigger Bill” that amended SERA, PERB, which enforces state labor law, mainly oversaw public-sector employers in New York, though it also regulates labor relations for private-sector employers where federal laws – such as the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) – do not apply, such as for agricultural workers. SERA, generally, applies more employee-friendly standards than the NLRA.