The Trial Of Amazon's Labor Practices, At JFK-8, Is Underway All This Week, In NYC -- Before An NLRB ALJ... Will Report What's Available...

We will warn up front, that since it is not a full USDC trial, the documents arrive on a delayed basis, and minute orders are more than slightly delayed, in the electronic records. Even so -- we will cover it.

Here is the background reading: the consolidated complaint, as filed by the trial attorneys of the NLRB. Here is the order setting this week for trial. And here is Amazon's answer, such as it is. These are as rare now, as hens' teeth, in the last half century.

That is to say, this is the first facility -- at which Mr. Smalls got a union vote win -- after being fired by Amazon. He won by almost two to one, even with the alleged violations already sworn out in a complaint by the NLRB. That's no mean feat.

And later this year, the charges at the Alabama facility, and at the other Staten Island facility will likely go to trial.

A resounding loss for Amazon here, in these next two weeks, might encourage executives to shift their thinking, and take the Microsoft route, to work the problem collaboratively. We shall see. But I do think Amazon will lose here. So we will cover it. Here's a bit of the news coverage, so far, from yesterday:

. . .In a complaint filed in February, Kathy Drew-King, a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board alleged Amazon was “interfering with, restraining and coercing employees. . . .”

Drew-King said the company threatened employees telling them it would be “futile” to vote for a union, called union organizers “thugs,” interrogated workers about their union activities, confiscated union literature and surveilled workers — part of a series of incidents that occurred at the JFK8 warehouse between May 4th, 2021 and October 31st 2021. . . .

In passing, I should note that the Starbucks / Ithaca NLRB complaints were filed yesterday -- but as I say, we will have to wait a few days to get the redacted versions. That case was mentioned over the weekend. Onward -- "mess with the bull; get the horns. . . ." Smile.

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