Amazon CEO Andy Jassy broke labor law with union remarks, judge rules

Remarks Jassy made to reporters about the downsides of unionization told “employees that if they chose a union, they would lose their power and have a harder time getting things done quickly,” the administrative law judge wrote of the NLRB, Brian Gee.

Gee cited various comments from Jassy, ​​including telling CNBC that workplace improvements are “much slower” with a union and asserting at a New York Times conference that employees without a union are “better off” because “it’s not bureaucratic”.

Gee also quoted Jassy as saying at the Bloomberg Technology Summit that in a union store, “if you see something online that you think might be better for your team or for you or your customers, you can’t just go to your manager and say, ‘Let’s change that.’

While precedent establishes that a manager can make factual predictions about “clearly probable consequences beyond his or her control,” Gee wrote that Jassy “offered no objective basis” for his assertions.

The judge said Amazon should be forced to post a notice at its U.S. facilities informing employees of their rights and pledging not to threaten them.

Amazon said it strongly disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal. “The decision reflects poorly on the current state of the right to free expression, and we remain optimistic about our ability to continue to engage in reasonable discussion of these issues, where all points of view have equal weight. opportunity to be heard,” said spokeswoman Mary Kate Paradis. in an email.

The Amazon Labor Union, which brought the case to the NLRB, celebrated the decision. “This sends a clear message that attempts to deter workers from exercising their right to organize and bargain collectively will not be tolerated,” union attorney Seth Goldstein said in a text message.

U.S. law allows companies to oppose and argue against unionization, but not to threaten to punish workers if they organize.

Decisions of NLRB judges can be appealed to labor board members in Washington, and from there to federal court. The agency does not have the authority to hold executives personally liable for violations or force companies to pay punitive damages.