In an indication that federal labor officers are intently scrutinizing administration habits throughout union campaigns, the Nationwide Labor Relations Board mentioned Friday that it had discovered advantage in accusations that Amazon and Starbucks had violated labor regulation.
At Amazon, the labor board discovered advantage to prices that the corporate had required staff to attend anti-union conferences at an unlimited Staten Island warehouse the place the Amazon Labor Union received a shocking election victory final month. The dedication was communicated to the union Friday by an legal professional for the labor board’s regional workplace in Brooklyn, in keeping with Seth Goldstein, a lawyer representing the union.
Such conferences, typically referred to as “captive viewers” conferences, are authorized beneath present labor board precedent. However final month, the board’s common counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, issued a memo saying that the precedent was at odds with the underlying federal statute, and he or she indicated that she would search to problem it.
In the identical submitting of prices, the Amazon Labor Union accused the corporate of threatening to withhold advantages from staff in the event that they voted to unionize, and of inaccurately indicating to staff that they may very well be fired if the warehouse had been to unionize they usually did not pay union dues. The labor board additionally discovered advantage to those accusations, in keeping with an electronic mail from the legal professional on the regional workplace, Matt Jackson.
Mr. Jackson mentioned the company would quickly concern a grievance reflecting these accusations until Amazon settled the case. The grievance could be litigated earlier than an administrative regulation choose, whose determination may very well be appealed to the labor board in Washington.
Perceive the Unionization Efforts at Amazon
Mr. Goldstein applauded Ms. Abruzzo and the regional workplace for taking “decisive steps ending required captive viewers conferences” and mentioned the precise to unionize “might be protected by ending Amazon’s inherently coercive work practices.”
Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokeswoman, mentioned in a press release that “these allegations are false and we look ahead to displaying that via the method.”
At Starbucks, the place the union has received preliminary votes at greater than 50 shops since December, the labor board issued a grievance Friday over a sequence of prices the union filed, most of them in February, accusing the corporate of unlawful habits. These accusations embrace firing staff in retaliation for supporting the union; threatening staff’ skill to obtain new advantages in the event that they select to unionize; requiring staff to be accessible for a minimal variety of hours to stay employed at a unionized retailer with out bargaining over the change, as a option to drive out at the least one union supporter; and successfully promising advantages to staff in the event that they determine to not unionize.
Along with these allegations, the labor board discovered advantage to accusations that the corporate intimidated staff by closing Buffalo-area shops and fascinating in surveillance of staff whereas they had been on the job. All of these actions could be unlawful.
In a press release, Starbucks Employees United, the department of the union representing staff there, mentioned that the discovering “confirms the extent and depravity of Starbucks’s conduct in Western New York for the higher a part of a 12 months.” It added: “Starbucks might be held accountable for the union-busting minefield they pressured staff to stroll via in combating for his or her proper to arrange.”
Starbucks mentioned in a press release that the grievance doesn’t represent a judgment by the labor board, including, “We consider the allegations contained within the grievance are false, and we look ahead to presenting our proof when the allegations are adjudicated.”
