A labor judge ruled that Amazon failed to recognize the Teamsters union as required by law.
Amazon was ordered to collectively bargain with workers at its California warehouses, Bloomberg reported. A labor judge ruled that Amazon violated federal law by refusing to recognize the Teamsters union after it received support from the majority of workers at a San Francisco delivery center. However, Amazon has vowed to appeal that order to an NLRB board that could soon be dominated by Trump appointees. The board could then reverse the decision and use the new precedent to roll back recent victories won by unions formed by Amazon employees.
The judge’s decision is based on precedent set under the more worker-friendly Biden administration. Called Cemexit forces companies to negotiate with social groups that recruit a legitimate majority of the staff. Failing that, companies must ask the NLRB to hold an election to test its support. Amazon did neither of those things, the judge ruled.
“We do not agree with the decision of this administrative judge, we are appealing and we are convinced that a court will overturn it,” said an Amazon spokesperson. Bloomberg in an emailed statement. Amazon has denied any wrongdoing and said it believes Cemex’s precedent was illegal. With Trump removing himself from the NLRB board (illegally, according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren), Amazon could use the case as a way to unwind. Cemex.
Amazon workers have made progress in unionizing in recent years. Staten Island workers won the NLRB election several years ago, and Philadelphia Whole Food workers also formed a union. However, none of these efforts resulted in collective bargaining. “Amazon’s strategy over the past several years has been to delay, delay, delay,” the Teamsters organization said in a press release earlier this year. With potential big changes to the NLRB, Jeff Bezos’ company may soon be able to undo that progress.
