Amazon has reached a settlement in the United States with the National Labor Relations Board, an agency that monitors the correct implementation of labour laws. This will make it easier for warehouse workers to unionise in the future.
Break room
From now on, the e-commerce giant must give access to non-work-related areas of the company, such as break rooms, to employees who have finished their shift but are also engaged in union activities even when other employees are present. The rule results from a complaint that employees made to the NLRB: previously, Amazon did not allow them to stay on the premises except for 15 minutes before and after their shift. This made it very difficult to organise themselves, The Washington Post writes.
The agreement also states that Amazon must inform all warehouse workers who are (or have been) employed since 22 March of their rights. This involves hundreds of thousands of workers.
Increased pressure
Over the past two years, the e-commerce giant has experienced increasing trade union pressure from workers in its vast network of warehouses. Earlier this year, warehouse workers in Bessemer (Alabama) were able to have their voices heard on the establishment of the first-ever Amazon trade union in the United States. A majority voted against it, but the NLRB has since ruled that Amazon must hold the vote once more because the company allegedly put severe pressure on its employees.
“This settlement agreement provides a crucial commitment from Amazon to millions of its workers across the United States”, Jennifer Abruzzo, NLRB’s general counsel, said in a statement. Amazon promises that it will not interfere with employees’ rights to improve their workplace by forming a union or taking other collective action. The NLRB will be vigilant in ensuring that Amazon adheres to the agreement and will continue to defend the employment rights of all workers, Abruzzo added.
