Labor Board Confirms Amazon Drivers Are Employees, In Finding Hailed By Union

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Amazon may be forced to meet some unionized delivery drivers at the bargaining table after a regional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) director determined Thursday that Amazon is a joint employer of contractors hired to ensure the e-commerce giant delivers its packages when promised. This seems like a potentially big loss for Amazon, which had long argued that delivery service partners (DSPs) exclusively employed the delivery drivers, not Amazon. By rejecting its employer status, Amazon had previously argued that it had no duty to bargain with driver unions and no responsibility for alleged union busting, The Washington Post reported.

But now, after a yearlong investigation, the NLRB has issued what Amazon delivery drivers' union has claimed was 'a groundbreaking decision that sets the stage for Amazon delivery drivers across the country to organize with the Teamsters.' In a press release reviewed by Ars, the NLRB regional director confirmed that as a joint employer, Amazon had 'unlawfully failed and refused to bargain with the union' after terminating their DSP's contract and terminating 'all unionized employees.' The NLRB found that rather than bargaining with the union, Amazon 'delayed start times by grounding vans and not preparing packages for loading,' withheld information from the union, and 'made unlawful threats.' Teamsters said those threats included 'job loss' and 'intimidating employees with security guards.'

Unless a settlement is reached, the NLRB will soon 'issue a complaint against Amazon and prosecute the corporate giant at a trial' after finding that 'Amazon engaged in a long list of egregious unfair labor practices at its Palmdale facility,' Teamsters said. Apparently downplaying the NLRB determination, Amazon is claiming that the Teamsters are trying to 'misrepresent what is happening here.' Seemingly Amazon is taking issue with the union claiming that an NLRB determination on the merits of their case is a major win when the NLRB has yet to issue a final ruling. According to the NLRB's press release, 'a merit determination is not a 'Board decision/ruling' -- it is the first step in the NLRB's General Counsel litigating the allegations after investigating an unfair labor practice charge.' Sean M. O'Brien, the Teamsters general president, claimed the win for drivers unionizing not just in California but for nearly 280,000 drivers nationwide.

'Amazon drivers have taken their future into their own hands and won a monumental determination that makes clear Amazon has a legal obligation to bargain with its drivers over their working conditions,' O'Brien said. 'This strike has paved the way for every other Amazon worker in the country to demand what they deserve and to get Amazon to the bargaining table.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.