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Tag: NLRB

  • Apple Accused of Going too Far to Combat Unionization Efforts

    Apple Accused of Going too Far to Combat Unionization Efforts

    Apple is facing a complaint by the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over allegations it illegally tried to combat unionization efforts.

    Companies in the US are legally prohibited from taking certain steps in their efforts to combat unionization. According to the NLRB, Apple crossed the line in its efforts to discourage employees from unionizing at one if its New York City Stores.

    The complaint accuses Apple of “prohibiting the placement of union flyers on the break room table while permitting nonunion solicitations and distributions,” NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado told Bloomberg in an email.

    While Apple does have a no solicitation policy at the workplace, the complaint says the company only enforced the policy with pro-union flyers and material.

    This isn’t the first complaint against Apple. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed a previous complaint accusing the company of conducting interrogations and forcing employees to listen to anti-union speeches.

    Apple is facing increased pressure from unionization efforts and has even hired a law firm that specializes in anti-union efforts.

    “It is past time for Apple’s senior management to respect its retail employees and stop its unlawful attempts to prevent them from forming unions,” said CWA’s secretary-treasurer, Sara Steffens, according to Bloomberg. “Apple has a choice – does it want to be known for intimidating its workers and creating a culture of fear, or does it want to live up to its stated values and welcome true collaboration with all of its employees – including retail workers.”

  • Amazon Loses Bid to Overturn NYC Employee Union Vote

    Amazon Loses Bid to Overturn NYC Employee Union Vote

    Amazon’s anti-union efforts have been dealt a major blow, with the company losing a bid to overturn a vote by its employees to unionize.

    Workers at the Staten Island, N.Y voted to unionize and join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), but Amazon filed an appeal, requesting the vote be re-taken. According to NPR, a federal labor official with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has rejected Amazon’s appeal in its entirety, ruling that the union should be certified.

    ALU president Chris Smalls celebrated the news in a tweet:

    The NLRB ruling is a significant setback for Amazon, a company that is notoriously anti-union. The company has aggressively pushed back against union efforts, even to the point of making its own investors uncomfortable. Amazon has also hired Pinkerton detectives to monitor organizing efforts on the part of its employees.

    With the Staten Island precedent, Amazon will likely face much wider unionization efforts.

  • Project Vivian: Google’s Top-Secret Anti-Union Effort

    Project Vivian: Google’s Top-Secret Anti-Union Effort

    More information about Google’s anti-union efforts is coming out, thanks to a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

    Alphabet and Google employees formed a union in January 2021, but it wasn’t without some coordinated interference on the part of the company. According to Motherboard, an NLRB ruling revealed documents that disclosed the existence of Project Vivian.

    According to the documents, Michael Pfyl, Google’s director of employment law, said Project Vivian’s objective was “to engage employees more positively and convince them that unions suck.”

    The judge in the NLRB case also described evidence in which a Google attorney proposed using a “respected voice to publish an OpEd outlining what a unionized tech workplace would look like, and counseling employees of FB (Facebook), MSFT(Microsoft), Amazon, and google (sic) not to do it.”

    In response to the proposal, Google’s HR director, Kara Silverstein, said the company would need to be careful that “there would be no fingerprints and not Google specific.”

    According to the NLRB, in the US “it is unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights.”

    Even if Google didn’t technically break the law, it’s not helping its reputation any. The company has already refused to release 180 documents to the attorney representing four fired employees, employees that organized against the company. It appears Google is even going so far as to defy a judge’s order pertaining to the release of the documents.

  • Amazon Required to Email 1 M Employees About Their Right to Organize

    Amazon Required to Email 1 M Employees About Their Right to Organize

    Amazon has reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requiring the company to email employees about organizing.

    Amazon has drawn ongoing criticism for how it deals with employee efforts to unionize. The company has hired Pinkerton detectives to keep tabs on unionization efforts, and has been accused of bullying workers and violating labor laws at an Alabama warehouse in the lead-up to a vote on unionization.

    According to Business Insider, Amazon has reached a settlement with the NLRB, and one of the stipulations is that it must email approximately 1 million employees to inform them of their right to organize.

    The Teamsters had already created a division specifically tasked with helping Amazon workers successfully unionize. With the NLRB settlement, the tide may finally be turning against the e-commerce giant and its efforts to fight unionization.

  • NLRB Official: Amazon Violated Labor Laws in Alabama

    NLRB Official: Amazon Violated Labor Laws in Alabama

    Amazon employees may get another chance to vote on unionization in Alabama, following an investigation showing the company violated the law.

    Employees at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama voted on unionization, ultimately losing in April. The voting process was mired with controversy, however, with Amazon accused of bullyingemployees into voting “no,” with some 70.8% voting that way.

    The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigated, and the official leading the investigation has said Amazon violated labor laws, according to Business Insider. The official is also recommending a new vote be held.

    One of the points of contention was a mailbox Amazon had installed at the warehouse to serve as a drop box. The union behind the vote believed it had been installed to intimidate workers, and the NLRB had denied Amazon’s request to install it. Instead, the company appears to have pressured the USPS to install the mailbox.

    “Worst yet, even though the NLRB definitively denied Amazon’s request for a drop box on the warehouse property, Amazon felt it was above the law and worked with the postal service anyway to install one,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the union, according to Business Insider. “They did this because it provided a clear ability to intimidate workers.” 

    The official’s recommendation that a new vote be held is not the final word, and will go to the NLRB’s regional director for a decision. Nonetheless, given the trouble Amazon has been in lately for its treatment of employees — stiffing drivers $62 million in tips and not paying employees for the time spent searching their bags — it’s unlikely the NLRB will be in a lenient mood.

  • Amazon Workers Vote No to Unionization

    Amazon Workers Vote No to Unionization

    Amazon has scored a big win in Alabama, as workers voted not to unionize in the biggest unionization push the company has seen in the US.

    Workers at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse began the process of setting up a union vote earlier this year. Amazon immediately began a full-court press initiative to discourage those efforts, including go so far as to put propaganda in bathroom stalls.

    It appears the company’s efforts were successful, as NPR is reporting the employees have voted not to unionize. The union is filing a legal challenge to the results, and wants a hearing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The union wants the NLRB “to determine if the results of the election should be set aside because conduct by the employer created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees’ freedom of choice.”

    In addition to the bathroom propaganda, Amazon bombarded workers with anti-union text messages and mandatory “information sessions.” A mailbox that was supposed to provide a “convenient, safe and private” place to vote was placed inside an Amazon tent, a move many felt was further intimidation. Similarly, the company asked the county to shorten the timing of the traffic light outside the warehouse. Pro-union organizers believed it was to prevent them from being able to talk to workers sitting in traffic, while Amazon says it was standard practice during holiday and peak season.

    Whatever the case, it appears Amazon’s fight over unionization is far from over. Given the company’s aggressive tactics, tactics that caused its own investors to tell it to back down, the company may have won this battle at the cost of the war.

  • Amazon Tries and Fails to Have Cameras Installed at Union Vote

    Amazon Tries and Fails to Have Cameras Installed at Union Vote

    As Amazon workers in Alabama vote on unionization, Amazon tried and failed to get approval to install cameras to watch ballot boxes.

    Amazon is notoriously anti-union, resorting to Pinkerton detectivesand illegal firings to discourage unionization efforts. When Alabama warehouse employees decided to vote on unionization, the company even put signs in bathroom stalls to pressure employees to vote no. Amazon’s efforts prompted investors to warn the company to back off its pressure campaign.

    In its latest effort, the company wanted to install cameras to watch the ballot boxes between counting. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied the company’s petition, according to CNBC.

    “Though the mail ballot election in this matter is large, it is not, as the Employer asserts, of a ‘special nature,’” said Lisa Henderson, acting regional director at the NLRB. “The Region will conduct the ballot count within view of observers participating via virtual platform as well as in-person observers, and in accordance with Agency procedures and protocols, including those for securing ballot boxes.”

    It remains to be seen if the vote will pass but, if it does, the Alabama facility will be the first US Amazon facility to unionize. Such a move would pave the way for other Amazon facilities to do the same, and likely have a significant impact on the company’s business operations.

  • Amazon Goes Full-Court Press Against Alabama Warehouse Union Efforts

    Amazon Goes Full-Court Press Against Alabama Warehouse Union Efforts

    Amazon is pulling out all the stops in its efforts to dissuade Alabama warehouse workers from unionizing, even campaigning in the restroom.

    Workers at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse made headlines several weeks ago when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) scheduled a vote for workers to decide on unionization. Amazon is notoriously anti-union, even hiring Pinkerton detectives to monitor and thwart efforts. The company has been accused of illegally firing individuals who advocated for better working conditions and supported organizing.

    Amazon is not letting up its anti-union efforts, according to The Washington Post, putting so much pressure on employees ahead of the vote that some feel they’re being harassed. The company is even putting fliers on the inside of bathroom stall doors with the message: “Where will your dues go?”

    “They got right in your face when you’re using the stall,” said Darryl Richardson, a pro-union worker. Another pro-union worker, who remained anonymous due to fear of retaliation, said: “I feel like I’m getting harassed.”

    Amazon is already on thin ice when it comes to employee relations. The company just settled for nearly $62 million for stealing tips from Flex drivers. It’s not hard to imaging the company’s full-court press in Bessemer backfiring, driving more employees to vote in favor of unionization. Should the vote pass, it will likely be the first of many, serving as a template for workers around the country.

  • Amazon Warehouse Workers Voting On Unionization

    Amazon Warehouse Workers Voting On Unionization

    Amazon warehouse workers are preparing to vote on whether to form the company’s first union.

    Amazon is famously opposed to its employees unionizing. The company has gone to extreme measures, even hiring Pinkerton detectives to monitor efforts. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accused Amazon of threatening, suspending and terminating employees for trying to organize.

    It appears Amazon’s efforts have not been successful, however, as employees at the company’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama are moving forward with plans to vote on unionization. The NLRB has scheduled the vote for February 8 through March 29, and will involve approximately 6,000 employees.

    It remains to be seen if the vote will pass. If it does, however, it would be a big step forward for unionization efforts within one of the biggest companies in the US.

  • Amazon Accused of Illegally Firing Employee Over Working Conditions

    Amazon Accused of Illegally Firing Employee Over Working Conditions

    The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accused Amazon of illegally firing an employee advocating for better working conditions.

    On the heels of news the NLRB accused Google of illegally spying on and firing employees, not to mention its firing of Timnit Gebru, Amazon is now in hot water too.

    Amazon has already made headlines for aggressively working against unionization efforts, even going so far as to hire Pinkertons to monitor employees suspected of organizing. At least six employees claim they were fired in the spring over their efforts to improve working conditions.

    According to BuzzFeed News, however, the NLRB has found that one of those employees, Courtney Bowden, has a legitimate case. In fact, “the agency found merit in her allegations that Amazon threatened, suspended, and ultimately terminated her because she had been talking with coworkers at an Amazon warehouse in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, about pay and other workplace issues, which is a legally protected activity.” At least one of those issues was providing sick pay for part-time employees.

    The case will now go before an administrative law judge March 9, 2021. Given Amazon’s history, its recent actions and the NLRB’s findings, it seems likely the judge may find in Bowden’s favor.

    Either way, this has not been a good week for Big Tech and employee relations.

  • Northwestern University Football Players Granted Right To Form Union

    The unionization efforts of the football players of Northwestern University are starting to pay off. On Wednesday, a National Labor Relations Board official ruled that the players have the right to form a union as they are considered employees of the university. As such, they may vote in a union election and they also have the right to bargain collectively.

    The petition toward the ruling was submitted to the NLRB by the newly-formed College Athletes Players Association, headed by former UCLA football player Ramogi Huma. The petition was submitted in January, and in February a hearing for it spanned three weeks.

    Peter Ohr, the regional director of the NLRB, stated in a 24-page decision that all of the football players granted scholarships by Northwestern University are eligible to form a union. His decision was based on a number of factors, including the amount of time they spend for football-related activities, which could amount to as many as 50 hours in a week.

    In addition, the scholarships also serve as contracts for compensation, or a form of payment in exchange for the work done on the football field, which earns money for the NCAA and its member universities. For Ohr, it is clear that there is a transfer of economic value and employer-employee relationship: the university, as the employer, pays for the players’ room, board, tuition, and other necessities provided by the scholarship.

    The NCAA has been facing criticism for its profiting from basketball and football players, as they earn billions of dollars every year. In a statement, the NCAA expressed its disappointment with Ohr’s ruling. Donald Remy, their chief legal officer, stated that they disagree with the belief that student-athletes are considered employees.

    One of the base arguments was whether the scholar players were students, or employees, or if they were somehow hybrids.

    Ohr’s decision cited examples supporting his conclusion. He says that the football players were different from other students in that they were on campus basically to play. Football players are also recruited for what they can do on the field and not in the classroom. In addition, part of the team’s guidelines include drug testing, which other students are not subjected to. Other students can also refuse a friend request from a professor, but players cannot do the same when a coach adds them on Facebook.

    Ohr’s ruling applies to the football players on scholarship in private Northwestern University, but the precedent may be applied to all of the scholarship football players in Division I private institutions as well.

    Should Student Athletes Get Paid?


    Image via YouTube

  • Social Networking For The Workplace

    Anthony DeRosa, social-media editor for Reuters news service says:

    “Social media now is not an option, it’s a necessity,”

    “A couple of years ago that wasn’t the case, but I think now people have to be a part of it, whether it’s one social network or a couple of them.”

    What DeRosa is talking about is sharing content with those you work with and clients outside the business. It is essential to create an online persona for your organization via Twitter, Facebook, and/or countless others which are available. Today it is nearly impossible to avoid social networking if you want your business to grow.

    But there is a downside to maintaining a presence in the public eye and there are many instances when an angry rant or differences of opinion have left organizations looking ugly in the eyes of the public.

    Milwaukee attorney, Jesse Dill specializes in these kinds of issues and remarks on the subject of social networking for the workplace:

    “You’re seeing there’s some value to it … but it seems like every year something new is going to pop up that is going to catch employers’ attention.”

    “It’s so easy to start these [social media] profiles that a lot of people might not have thought right away [about] what are going to be some of the repercussions down the road.”

    I think many people are accustom to using social media for personal use, especially with sites like Facebook, but in the public sector there’s a whole different decorum. DeRosa points out some aspects of social networking that employers should consider:

    “Not everyone is cut out to use social media,”

    “Some people just don’t know how to handle themselves in public.”

    “[When] you have a platform where they can say things instantly and the world can see it, you’re always running a risk that someone’s going to say something stupid,”

    “We try our best to lay out the guidelines and have the workshops, but it kind of comes down to common sense. There’s not much more you can do than tell people not to be stupid.”

    Another concern for employers should be the increasing role Federal Government wants to play in regulating issues surrounding social networking Particularly the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

    Jesse Dill elaborates further on the delicate balance that has to be maintained by the employer:

    “The employer has to be careful about their policy, but also how they react to an employee’s posts.”

    “They (NLRB) seem to be drawing a line between employees complaining about the terms and conditions of their employment and employees just making personal gripes about their employers or the customers they serve,”

    Employees have protection to express their views on company policies to coworkers but that cannot cross over into public criticism of the organization. Because it is a relatively new issue, there will be new issues arising all the time. Dill comments further on the unfolding issues with social networking in the workplace:

    “As people start to pay attention to these issues — to see what employees might be doing with the social media accounts — then we’ll see more issues identified,”