US Labor Board Sees 'Merit' in Complaints Against Amazon as Second Warehouse Fails to Unionize

Amazon defeated an attempt by a second warehouse to unionize, CNBC reports - after "holding mandatory worker meetings to persuade its employees not to unionize." But now the U.S. government's National Labor Relations Board "has found merit in a union charge that Amazon violated labor law..."The labor board has in the past allowed employees to mandate such meetings, which are routinely held at companies like Amazon and Starbucks during union drives. But in a memo sent to the agency's field offices last month, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said she believes the meetings, often called "captive audience meetings," are at odds with labor law, and would seek to get them outlawed... An NLRB spokesperson said the agency will issue a complaint against Amazon unless the retailer agrees to a settlement. If the company doesn't settle, the complaint would trigger an administrative court process where both parties can litigate the case.... The agency also found merit in an accusation from the union that the company indicated to workers they could be fired if they voted to unionize, and threatened to withhold benefits should they chose to do so, according to an email from Matt Jackson, an attorney with the NLRB's field office in Brooklyn. "These allegations are false and we look forward to showing that through the process," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. In addition, an Amazon spokesperson tells CNBC, "These meetings have been legal for over 70 years."

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