The National Labor Relations Board has determined that Amazon illegally questioned a warehouse worker who led colleagues in a strike over the handling of the company of the corona pandemic per monthly report by Motherboard
Amazon employee Jonathan Bailey led 13 workers in a strike from a company warehouse in the Queens Ward of New York City on March 20, 2020, after a colleague tested positive for the virus and was sent home. That followed another strike in the same warehouse two days earlier under similar circumstances, for which Bailey was also a lead organizer.
After the two interruptions, Amazon sent a director who introduced himself as a former FBI employee to take Bailey to a meeting and accuse him of conduct that could be construed as harassment of colleagues. The manager told Bailey to be notified before any further action would be taken, Motherboard reports
The next day, a regional manager who introduced himself as a former FBI agent pulled Bailey apart into management’s offices and questioned Bailey about his role in the strike, telling him his behavior may have been harassment and demanding that Bailey contact him. before running away in the future. to Bailey’s NLRB testimonial.
“He questioned me for an hour and a half,” Bailey told Motherboard. “A week later I was called back to the office and they wrote me up for harassment and said people felt hurt by what I did.” Motherboard received an audio recording of that meeting.
Federal labor laws prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who attempt to join a union or who take collective action against unfair or dangerous conditions.
Bailey filed a complaint with NLRB and reached a settlement with Amazon on March 3, 2021 documents. The settlement resolved part of the issue, but NLRB still found that Amazon had violated federal labor laws at least four times. Specific violations included ordering employees not to organize “without first knowing [them], “Threatening to discipline organizers, and”[interrogating] employees about their participation, ”said agency documents obtained by Motherboard.
G / O Media can receive a commission
According to Motherboard, NLRB has dismissed three other complaints against Amazon about the same case. As a result of the settlement, Amazon will have to place fliers to notify warehouse personnel that they will not be confronted or asked about protected activity.
Motherboard had previously reported Amazon failed to prepare for pandemic circumstances, despite having a large corporate security department designed for monitoring everything from pandemic threats to employee behavior and the labor and environmental movements. At the same time, workers were under pressure to work even harder The number of deliveries to Amazon increased enormously due to lockdown orders imposed to limit the spread of the virus. Internal Amazon documents obtained by the site back Allegations by employees at the Queens facility that the company violated the New York paid sick leave law by firing employees who did not show up for their shifts, as well as Amazon’s policy of running some 12-hour shifts. Amazon reportedly had too low on supplies such as hand sanitizer, sterilization wipes, disinfectant and water for workers dealing with “heat stress” in the company’s sweaty facilities.
“While we disagree with the allegations in the case, we are pleased to move away from this matter,” Amazon spokesperson Leah Say told Motherboard. “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority and we pride ourselves on providing inclusive environments where employees can excel without fear of retaliation, intimidation or harassment.”
“Amazon concocted false and unjust disciplinary measures to build bogus cases against workers who were leading the fight to be treated like more than grist in Amazon’s profit mill,” Amazonians United New York City, the group that organized the strike, told the US. site. “We thank NLRB for spending countless hours and validating what we already knew was true. Ultimately, it is our solidarity that protects us and will bring us a better world. “
Amazon, run by the world’s richest man, has long had to deal with cutting back on employees who say the company is ignoring their habit health and safety in favor of profits, and NLRB has ruled that the company was illegally retaliating against employees who led strikes in Chicago and another employee on Staten Island who protested outside an Amazon facility on his day off. The company has failed to become a union regulator on one warehouse in Alabama where workers will vote to form a bargaining unit in late March, while workers from other facilities across the country will is considering doing the samePresident Joe Biden effectively endorsed Labor unionization efforts in the Amazon this month, issuing a clear warning to company management that workers have the right to form a union without management interference.