Posts tagged Amazon
OPINION: Union Politics Is Poisoning Washington’s Business Climate
April 23, 2026 // Between 2021 and 2026, Washington fell from #16 to #45 in the Tax Foundation’s State Tax Competitiveness Index, a dramatic drop that signals a rapidly deteriorating business climate. Meanwhile, the cost of living has surged. The Washington Roundtable now ranks the state among the five most expensive in the country. This did not happen by accident. It is the direct outcome of a policy agenda backed by union money and enacted by elected officials who benefit from it: higher minimum wages, expansive paid-leave mandates, new healthcare requirements, and an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
Union Now Is America’s New Strike Fund
April 20, 2026 // The American labor movement will soon have something it’s never had before: a centralized strike fund. Union Now, the new nonprofit and brainchild of Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International President Sara Nelson, began officially fundraising at a kickoff rally on Sunday, April 12th, in Manhattan. National leaders of the Democratic left were there in support; both Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani made rousing speeches, which suggests that the supporters Union Now hopes to enlist will go beyond those who are already union activists.
‘Power in the hands of people’: union leaders push to revive ailing US labor movement
April 15, 2026 // Leaders of some of the largest unions in the US have unveiled a drive to jumpstart the country’s ailing labor movement and combat growing wealth inequality under Donald Trump. To make it easier for workers to join a union, and strengthen the hand of new unions negotiating with powerful businesses, a string of prominent organizers joined together to launch Union Now, a non-profit designed to increase labor union density.
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.”