The National Labor Relations Board has determined that Amazon has illegally questioned a warehouse worker who led colleagues in a strike across the country company handling of the coronavirus pandemic, per Monday report by Motherboard.
Jonathan Bailey, Amazon Worker led 13 workers on a march from 20 March 2020 from a warehouse in New York, Queens, after a colleague tested positive for the virus and was sent home. This followed another outing at the same warehouse two days earlier under similar circumstances, for which Bailey was also a chief organizer.
After the two outings, Amazon sent a manager who introduced himself as a former employee of the FBI to drag Bailey to a meeting and accuse him of behaving in a way that could be considered harassment of colleagues. The driver told Bailey that he would need to be notified before any subsequent actions, Motherboard reports:
The next day, a regional manager who introduced himself as a former FBI agent set Bailey aside in management’s offices and questioned Bailey about his role in the hike, telling him that his behavior could be harassment, and demanding that Bailey should contact him before any future hikes, according to Bailey’s NLRB testimony.
“He interviewed me for an hour and a half,” Bailey told Motherboard. ‘A week later I was called back to the office and they picked me up for harassment and said people feel hurt by what I did. ‘Motherboard got an audio recording of the meeting.
Federal labor laws prohibit employers from retaliating against workers who try to unite themselves or who institute collective action against unfair or dangerous conditions.
Bailey lodged a complaint with the NLRB and reached a settlement with Amazon on documents dated March 3, 2021. The settlement resolved part of the case, but the NLRB still issued a ruling that Amazon at least four times federal labor laws violated. Specific violations included ordering employees not to organize “without first notifying them [them], “Threatens to Discipline Organizers, and”[interrogating] employees about their participation, ”according to agency documents obtained by Motherboard.
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According to Motherboard, the NLRB dismissed three other complaints against Amazon. Due to the settlement, Amazon is expected to place kites notifying warehouse staff that they will not be confronted or asked about protected activities.
Motherboard previously reported by Amazon failure to prepare for pandemic conditions, despite a large corporate security department designed to monitor everything, from threats of pandemics to workers’ behavior and the labor and environmental movements. At the same time, workers are being pressured to work even harder like Amazon deliveries have risen due to closure orders set to limit the spread of the virus. Internal Amazon documents obtained through the Website allegations by workers at the Queens facility that the company has violated New York are paying sick leave law by terminating workers who do not show up for their shifts, as well as making Amazon’s policy work through 12-hour shifts. Amazon also reportedly said needs the necessities like disinfectant, sterilized wipes, disinfectant and water for employees who experience “heat stress” in the sweaty facilities of the enterprise.
“While we do not agree with the allegations made in the case, we are pleased to put this case behind us,” Amazon spokeswoman Leah Say told Motherboard. “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority and we are proud to provide inclusive environments, where employees can perform without fear of retaliation, intimidation or harassment.”
“Amazon has fabricated false and unfair disciplinary measures to set up false cases against workers, which has led to the fight against more than grits in Amazon’s profit factory,” said Amazonians United New York City, the group that organized the outings. said to the website. ‘We thank the NLRB for putting in countless hours and confirming what we already knew. Ultimately, it is our solidarity that protects us and will bring us a better world. ”
Amazon, run by the richest man in the world, has long been pushed back by employees who say the company usually ignores them health and safety in favor of profits, and the NLRB ruled that the company had illegally retaliated against workers who led to strikes in Chicago and another worker in Staten Island who protested outside An Amazon facility on its day off. The company failed to set up a union station at a warehouse in Alabama where employees will vote at the end of March on the formation of a bargaining unit, while employees at other facilities across the country consider doing the same. President Joe Biden effectively endorsed Amazon’s union effort this month issued a clear warning to copper businesses that workers have the right to form a union without interference from management.