(New York) Amazon says the small group of trade unionists who won a historic vote in New York last week “threatened” its warehouse workers to force them to vote in favor of forming a union.
Posted at 6:43 p.m.
According to official documents filed Thursday with the federal labor agency (NLRB), Amazon requested more time to submit substantiated objections to the ballot. The e-commerce giant notably accuses activists from the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) of having “intimidated” employees.
The employees of the JFK8 site, located in the Staten Island district, voted in majority at the end of March to join the ALU, a first in an American warehouse of Amazon.
Second largest employer in the United States after Walmart (distribution), the group had since its creation in 1994 succeeded in repelling the desires of employees wishing to regroup in the country.
In its appeal, Amazon intends to develop several objections. The company considers that the ALU “threatened employees to force them to vote yes”, that the ALU “campaigned with employees in line to vote” or “bullied” them, and also that ALU activists “threatened immigrants” saying they risked losing “their social benefits if they did not vote for the union”.
“It’s absurd,” reacted lawyer Eric Milner on behalf of the union, arguing that “the ALU is made up entirely of Amazon employees.”
“Employees have spoken and their voices have been heard. Amazon chooses to ignore this fact, and implements tactics to delay the process and avoid the inevitable: negotiating a corporate contract. […] “, he continued.
“Amazon spent millions on anti-union consultants, Amazon held mandatory meetings, Amazon behaved in a threatening manner, Amazon illegally fired employees for trying to unionize,” he also said. added.
Amazon did not respond to a request from AFP.
The NLRB has given the company until Friday evening to submit its objections, and until April 22 to present its evidence.
A total of 8,325 JFK8 warehouse workers were on the voting list. Called to vote in person from March 25 to 30, 4,852 employees slipped a ballot into the ballot box. The “yes” won with 2654 votes against 2131.