Amazon.com was accused on Wednesday by the U.S. Labor Board of refusing to negotiate with a union that represents drivers who an independent contractor employs.
According to the complaint of the National Labor Relations Board, Amazon has been a “joint-employer” for drivers who Battle Tested Strategies, a contractor, employs. Amazon also used a number of illegal tactics in order to dissuade union activity at a Palmdale facility in California.
BTS drivers, the first Amazon contractors to unionize, voted last year to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
In a Monday complaint, the NLRB said that Amazon had broken the law when it terminated its contract with BTS following the unionization of the drivers without having first negotiated with Teamsters.
In August, the board said it found merit in union claims that Amazon controls BTS drivers. It should, therefore, be considered as their employer according to federal labor laws. At the time, the NLRB said that it would file a complaint unless Amazon resolved the case.
Last month, the board announced that it would file a second complaint against a new group of Amazon drivers.
Amazon’s spokesperson, Eileen Hards, stated that many Teamsters’ claims were not included in the NLRB complaint. This clearly demonstrates that the union has “misrepresented the facts.”
We have said this from the beginning: “There is no basis for any of these claims.” Hards stated that he was looking forward to proving this as the legal proceedings continued and expected the remaining few allegations would be dismissed.
Amazon previously stated that they did not control enough of the drivers’ conditions so as to consider them their co-employers.
In a recent statement, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien stated that Amazon tried to take advantage of the drivers’ hard work without being responsible for their welfare.
O’Brien stated that “this decision is a step in the right direction for getting Amazon employees what they deserve, including pay, conditions of employment, and contracts.”
The issue of joint employment in the United States has become one of the most controversial labor topics over the past decade. Since the Obama administration, the NLRB has changed its standard to determine when companies are considered as joint employers.
Unions and Democrats support a standard that covers indirect control. Business groups prefer a test requiring direct and immediate control of workers.
An administrative judge will hear the case in Los Angeles. The first hearing is set for March of next year. The five members of the NLRB can review the judge’s ruling, and their decisions can be appealed in federal court.
The ruling could apply to other Amazon contractors, forcing the company into bargaining with unions of drivers.
Amazon and a growing list of other companies have accused the board’s structure, as well as its internal enforcement procedures, of violating the U.S. Constitution.
Amazon filed a suit against the board to prevent it from deciding on whether or not the company should bargain with the union that represents workers in a New York City storage facility. The NLRB was temporarily stopped from deciding by a federal appeals Court on Monday while they reviewed Amazon’s claim.
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