Continuing a long American tradition of wealthy corporate executives making union-busting comments, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy went on a media blitz in 2022 to warn of the workplace-changing terror of unions. (Of course, it’s unfortunate that his emergency PSA coincided with a year A rise in organizing efforts at Amazon.) Unfortunately for Mr. Jassy, the US still has a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and CNBC reports the board ruled Wednesday that his anti-union comments violated federal labor laws.
Jassy appeared CNBC In April 2022, workers said they would have less power and expect things to be “slower” and “more bureaucratic” if they vote and join a union. in an interview with Bloomberghe added, “If you see something that you think could be better for your team or you or your customers, you can’t go to your manager and say, ‘Let’s change it.'”
He closed out his union-busting trifecta The New York Times DealBook conference, where the CEO said a workplace without unions “isn’t bureaucratic, it’s not slow.”
This is the latest on Amazon long history of behavior that disrupts the union.
NLRB Judge Brian Gee said Jassy violated labor laws by suggesting workers would be less empowered or “better off” without a union. However, Gee said the CEO’s other comments about the changing employee-employer relationship were legitimate. The difference, according to the judge, was that the more aggressive citations “went beyond simply commenting on the employee-employer relationship.”
Gee added that the comments “threatened workers that if they chose to unionize, they would be less empowered and would have difficulty getting things done quickly.” The judge ordered Amazon to “refrain” from making similar comments in the future. The company must also communicate and share the record of the judge’s order with all US employees.
In December, it was Jassy’s Amazon stock is evaluated $328 million makes him one of America’s richest CEOs.
in his statement to CNBC, an Amazon spokesperson said the judge’s ruling “reflects poorly on the state of free speech rights today.” Because, hey, what kind of free country do we have if a retail mogul can’t tell low-income workers nightmare stories about the perils of voting for empowerment in the workplace?
