Amazon threatened workers and broke labour union laws, rules US judge

Amazon threatened workers at its New York City warehouses of consequences if they attempted to unionise, in violation of US labour laws, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge ruled on Monday.

Judge Benjamin Green noted that the Amazon executives illegally threatened the employees that they will miss out on regular hikes and other improved benefits if they voted to unionise or forced the company into union negotiations.

Under US labour laws, any firm or employer cannot coerce or prohibit employees from unionising.

Judge Green also ordered the Jeff Bezos-owned company to post signs across the warehouse that reminded employees that they had the lawful right to engage in bargaining with the company.

The decision was passed after Amazon was found guilty of removing a post from an internal message board. The message urged the workers to sign a petition that made Juneteenth a paid holiday.

Meanwhile, Amazon took solace in the fact that the judge dismissed other charges, including one where officials allegedly threatened to reduce wages to pay union dues.

"We're glad that the judge dismissed 19, nearly all of the allegations in this case and correctly called the 3 remaining ones 'not obvious or clear cut'," an Amazon spokesperson was quoted as saying by AFP.

Notably, in March last year, 2,600 Amazon employees at its JFK8 fulfillment centre in Staten Island voted overwhelmingly to join Amazon Labor Union (ALU).

in May, Amazon attempted to overturn the unionisation process and submitted a filing to NLRB, suggesting that labour laws were violated to support the union drive.

However, after 24 days of hearing, NLRB upheld the historic union victory. Meanwhile, Amazon continues to maintain that theelection process was not fair, legitimate, or representative of the majority.

(With inputs from agencies)

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