Thursday, June 16, 2022

Amazon Labor Union Notches Its First Procedural Win, In The JFK-8 NLRB Hearings Underway Now, In Phoenix...


It sure seems as though upper management at Amazon is so "silo-ed," that it is not talking internally in anything like a real-time fashion. That's a problem at most big companies -- but Mr. Bezos ought to weigh in, as his largest single stake -- in his vast share of the planet's net worth... is flirting with a permanent, company wide collective bargaining order -- across all US facilities, now. Ouch.

These upper level managers cannot "four corners" stall their way through the game, any longer. The union is barrelling forward, on down the tracks now -- under a full head of steam, and Amazon has been woefully last century in its approach to this problem.

OTOH, this may be just what the company needs: real workers' representation -- and real. . . reform. Stay tuned. The hearings continue in Phoenix now; the first loss for Amazon is already on record:

. . .On May 25, 2022, Judge Esposito ordered the hearing in these unfair-labor-practice cases to proceed by videoconference and set forth various parameters and safeguards governing the remote proceeding. The hearing was set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 6 and continue on consecutive days that week and the following week. On Friday, June 3 at 4:40 p.m., the Respondent [Amazon] filed with the Board the instant special appeal request, accompanied by a request that the Board stay the proceedings pending its decision on the appeal. On June 6, the hearing began, as scheduled. . . .

[Amazon] waited nine days to file its special appeal request, then did so just twenty minutes before the close of business on the business day before the hearing was set to open. . . .

Even if the request had been timely, we would deny the appeal on the merits because the Respondent has failed to demonstrate that the judge abused her discretion. Specifically, with respect to the Respondent’s contention that the judge erred in failing to provide for party representatives to be present at the remote location from which each witness will testify, the Board has held that the safeguards in Section 102.35(c)(2) of the Board’s Rules and Regulations do not apply in all respects to a hearing conducted entirely via videoconference
. . . .


Be excellent to one another -- and do try to stay cool. . . we have ripe cherries iced, and fresh lemonade, also at the ready. . . for the whole of the hazily-heated-sweltering day here. Smile.

नमस्ते

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