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Amazon heads to court to defend against allegations of unfair labor practices on Staten Island
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Jun 6, 2022
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Gwynne Hogan/Gothamist
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Jun 6, 2022
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Amazon attorneys are slated to appear before a federal administrative judge Monday morning, to defend against a slew of allegations outlined by members of the Amazon Labor Union and the National Labor Relations Board that occurred on Staten Island during a lengthy union drive.
Amazon is accused of violating federal labor law in its efforts to discourage employees from forming a union. Among the tactics at issue are allegations that Amazon threatened workers, confiscated union literature and fired an organizer.
The trial is expected to last for several days and could compel the company to retrain managers and consultants hired to deter unionization efforts, post more notices regarding labor rights and potentially fork over monetary damages. Amazon denied violating federal labor law in court filings.
“This mess, this time consuming situation is caused by Amazon and Amazon’s unwillingness to realize they have to follow the law like every other company,” union attorney Seth Goldstein told Gothamist ahead of the trial. “No one’s giving up. We know who they are. We know what they do.”
In a complaint filed in February, Kathy Drew-King, a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board alleged Amazon was “interfering with, restraining and coercing employees.”
Drew-King said the company threatened employees telling them it would be “futile” to vote for a union, called union organizers “thugs,” interrogated workers about their union activities, confiscated union literature and surveilled workers — part of a series of incidents that occurred at the JFK8 warehouse between May 4th, 2021 and October 31st 2021.
Despite the company’s efforts, workers at that warehouse voted to form a union in March, becoming Amazon’s first unionized warehouse in the United States, in a historic upset victory.
The NLRB complaint also includes allegations that union organizer Daequan Smith was fired after he voiced concerns about work conditions at the warehouse known as ‘DYY6’, which has not filed for a union vote. Smith was suspended and had his shifts changed after raising his concerns, and was fired soon after, the complaint alleges.
Smith, who was living in a Bronx homeless shelter at the time of his termination last fall, is still struggling to get back on his feet. He's now staying with a friend and trying to find another job.
“I just pray for the best," Smith said by phone Monday morning. "Things have been rough, very rough."
The union didn’t return a request for further comment right away.
In federal filings, company attorneys Kurt Larkin and Amber Rogers denied any violations of federal labor law and asked an administrative judge to dismiss the case. The company spent $4.9 million last year to thwart union drives on Staten Island and in Alabama, and at least $230,000 since, according to federal filings.
"As we have consistently stated, these allegations are without merit and we look forward to presenting the facts during this week’s hearing" said Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel.
Amazon is also challenging the election results for JFK8 and is slated to appear before another administrative judge on June 13th to contest those results.
This story has been updated with additional comment.
Tagged
unionization
labor
amazon
national labor relations board
Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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