Above photo: Chris Smalls is leading a protest against Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Image.
“If Jassy comes to New York he should come to bargain a contract with Amazon workers, not bluster or practice union-busting.” ALU President Chris Smalls
New York – Members of the Amazon Labor Union, joined by local labor and community supporters, will protest outside the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, beginning at 10 a.m., November 30. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is one of the event’s scheduled speakers.
“If Jassy comes to New York he should come to bargain a contract with Amazon workers, not bluster or practice union-busting,” said Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls. “It’s time that Amazon and the company’s CEO respect the rights of workers and join ALU in improving working conditions, rather than acting as an uncaring, B.S.-spouting, corporate law-breaker.”
During Jassy’s tenure as Amazon’s CEO which began this year, the e-commerce giant has used highly-paid union busters to suppress the rights of its workers, harass organizers and delay bargaining as required by law. The company has been charged with multiple Unfair Labor Practices for its unlawful treatment of Amazon employees at New York’s JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island. Last week, in a rare move, a federal judge filed a national “cease and desist” order against Amazon, prohibiting the company from violating the rights of workers engaged in union organizing. In October, Jassy personally was cited by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for violating labor law and interfering with the rights of Amazon workers.
It’s expected that in the next few days the NLRB will certify results of the union election at JFK8 where local Amazon workers in April chose ALU as the bargaining agent for the large warehouse and distribution center’s workers.
New York Amazon facilities has seen high rates of serious worker injuries, much higher than warehouses operated by other companies. Nationwide, Amazon has an unsustainable business plan that emphasizes worker productivity over just about everything else and churns through the equivalent of its entire front-line workforce year after year.