Posts tagged Amazon
Southern California Amazon workers strike at one of company’s major West Coast air hubs
July 24, 2024 // The warehouse where the strike took place – the KSBD warehouse in San Bernardino – is Amazon’s largest air facility on the West Coast. The walkout comes on the heels of Prime Day, the marketplace’s incredibly popular 48-hour shopping event.
Read Amazon’s response to Senator Bernie Sanders’ misleading ‘interim report’ on workplace safety
July 17, 2024 // Senator Sanders’ interim report is wrong on the facts and builds a misleading narrative. Our employees’ safety is and always will be our top priority at Amazon.
Skokie Amazon drivers strike, here’s what they allege
June 30, 2024 // Illinois Amazon drivers at their Skokie delivery station went on strike on Wednesday. They're alleging the company is violating federal labor laws and refusing to recognize their union.
ICYMI: Amazon Appeals Controversial NLRB Decision on CEO Andy Jassy Media Interviews
June 24, 2024 // Despite these clear free speech protections, the ALJ strained credibility by finding that Jassy “threatened employees that, if they selected a union, they would become less empowered and would find it harder to get things done quickly.” Not surprisingly, the decision was quite controversial. Amazon’s appeal is good news for fans of free speech and open debate. The appeal will first go before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which we hope will reverse the ALJ. If it does not do so, Amazon can take the case up to the federal courts.
Op-Ed: The Supreme Court Ruling in the Starbucks Case Proves the Law Won’t Save Labor
June 17, 2024 // As a union organizer and Starbucks worker, I’ve seen the effects of corporate retaliation up close. In December 2020, I took a job at the Elmwood Avenue Starbucks in Buffalo, with the goal of unionizing my workplace. A year later, our store voted to become the first unionized corporate Starbucks location in the United States, sparking a wave of organizing across the company. In response to our union campaign, Starbucks unleashed a union-busting effort that began with managers and executives swarming our stores in Buffalo and escalated to firings (including my own), store closings, and the withholding of new benefits, like seniority pay and credit card tipping, from unionized stores nationwide.
US court nixes order barring Amazon from firing pro-union workers
June 14, 2024 // The labor board sought the order after Amazon in 2020 fired Gerald Bryson, a union organizer at a warehouse in Staten Island, for making profane comments to a coworker during a protest over an alleged lack of safety measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. District Judge Diane Gujarati in Brooklyn ruled that Bryson's firing violated his rights under U.S. labor law and barred Amazon from terminating other union supporters. But the judge refused to order Amazon to reinstate Bryson, saying there was no evidence that his firing deterred other workers from unionizing. The 2nd Circuit on Wednesday said the requirement that Amazon not fire other workers was unnecessary if there was no evidence that Bryson's firing had a broader impact.
Commentary: Unions, Free Speech and Political Demagogues
June 12, 2024 // The NLRB ruled that union strikers’ “profane, vulgar, racist, and otherwise insulting language” is protected union activity so long as the speech stops short of threatening violence. The message is clear: If you are a political ally of President Biden, you can have all the speech you want. If you represent a company or industry that Mr. Biden scapegoats for political gain, you can’t express your views in the public square without the government accusing you of breaking the law.
Teamsters Memo Signals Rift Between Major Unions
June 4, 2024 // In 2013, several years after the Teamsters left the AFL-CIO, the union tried to raid bargaining units at American Airlines and then-U.S. Airways, which later merged with American. The mechanics at U.S. Airways were represented by the IAM. At the time, the IAM accused the Teamsters of “dividing already unionized employees with hollow promises.” The Teamsters and the IAM later reached a peace. They even announced in 2022 that they would work together to organize a broad swath of workers at Delta alongside the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The Teamsters were to represent the airline’s mechanics, the IAM Delta’s ramp and cargo workers, and the AFA Delta’s flight attendants.
The NLRB Harassment Carve-Out
May 30, 2024 // The NLRB may be fine with racism and sexism, but the Senate should oppose it. Ms. McFerran’s term expires in December, and regardless of what happens in November’s presidential election, Republicans and Democrats alike should demand a nominee who will stand against discrimination.
The Delivery Business Shows Why Unions Are Struggling to Expand
May 29, 2024 // But the union has also suffered losses. Yellow, a trucking company that employed 24,000 Teamsters, shut down and filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Amazon and FedEx said they were confident in their approach to managing and compensating workers. Amazon said it had made investments that bolstered pay and benefits at its delivery contractors. FedEx said its nonunion model allowed it to quickly increase pay whereas UPS’s union employees were bound by the terms of five-year contracts.