Nineteen months after Amazon workers in New York unionized – a first in the United States – the company is toughening its stance toward unionization: It is disciplining workers and even firing one for heavily involved in the union campaign.
These sanctions raise questions about whether Amazon employees are free to approach co-workers to persuade them to join a union, a right protected by federal law. According to the attorney for the American Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Amazon is violating the law by its policy restricting access to its facilities by employees outside of their working hours. In an upcoming trial, the NLRB will seek to overturn this policy, invoked by Amazon during the dismissal.
According to Amazon, the recent disciplinary actions were strictly aimed at non-compliance, not unionization. The rule for access to the company outside of working hours is “legal and common sense and we intend to defend our position,” said spokesperson Lisa Levandowski.
The laid-off worker, Connor Spence, is a founder of the Amazon union, which won a certification vote last year. After a split in union leadership, Mr. Spence helped create a separate group to pressure Amazon to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island. .
The company has not entered into negotiations and is appealing the 2022 union victory at JFK8.
In October, Mr. Spence’s group and a few dozen employees walked off the job to demand better wages and that Amazon give pregnant women less arduous tasks (which Amazon refuses, according to the group).
Spence was suspended for violating the company’s access policy, which prohibits workers from being inside Amazon buildings or in outdoor work areas outside of their work hours.
Mr. Spence said he was there off-duty to support the October walkout and plan another to come, and that his union actions were protected by federal labor law. He filed a complaint with the NLRB, accusing Amazon of unfair practices.
On November 29, during his suspension, Mr. Spence was terminated for violating the access policy in October.
Other workers participating in the union organization say they have received disciplinary action from Amazon in recent weeks.
