Judge rules that Amazon CEO’s statements about the need for a union violate labor law
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated labor laws with his statement that unions are unnecessary in 2022, a judge at the U.S. National Labor Relations Board has ruled, The Verge reports.
The court’s decision cites three instances where Jassy has spoken negatively about labor unions. In an interview with CNBC in April 2022, Jassy said that employees are better off not forming them. Jassy also made similar statements during the DealBook event in The New York Times and the Bloomberg Technology Summit.
“What we tell our employees in our fulfillment centers is that we think they’re better off without a union for a few reasons,” Jassy said at the DealBook Summit. “One is we try to hire people who we empower, if they find ways that they can make the experience better for customers or their fellow teammates, they can just go fix it. You know, they, they don’t have to go through a union. It’s not bureaucratic, it’s not slow.”
In his ruling, the judge stated that Jassy threatened employees with his statements, implying that “if they choose a union, they will become less powerful and it will be more difficult for them to fulfill their duties quickly.”
The judge recommended that Amazon refrain from making threatening statements about unions in the future and post notices at its facilities reminding employees of their rights.
Amazon spokeswoman Mary Kate Paradis said that the company strongly disagrees with the court’s decision and intends to appeal.
“The decision reflects poorly on the state of free speech rights today, and we remain optimistic that we will be able to continue to engage in a reasonable discussion on these issues where all perspectives have an opportunity to be heard,” said Mary Kate Paradis.