Amazon hit with labour complaint over alleged bargaining refusal

Amazon.com has been hit with a complaint for allegedly refusing to bargain with a New York workers’ union, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said.

The NLRB general counsel, which acts as a prosecutor, said the board is seeking remedies that include ordering Amazon to bargain in good faith with the union representing workers at its JFK8 facility in the New York City borough of Staten Island, a spokesperson for the labour relations board said on Wednesday.

Amazon and the union did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency.

Workers at Amazon’s JFK8 fulfilment centre in Staten Island voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last year, a first for the company in the United States. An NLRB official rejected Amazon’s bid to overturn the results of the JFK8 election in January this year.

Amazon is still challenging the results before a US labour board and has yet to engage in bargaining with the union.

The NLRB complaint comes as dozens of Amazon warehouse workers in New York sued the union on Monday, alleging that top union officials were refusing to hold democratic elections to fill leadership posts.