Amazon BUSTED — On Trial for Violating Workers’ Rights at KCVG
April 26, 2024
This week, Amazon went on trial for their illegal spying and harassment of pro-union KCVG workers. The trial was before an administrative law judge. The National Labor Relations Board (the federal government) is prosecuting Amazon after finding that our charges were legitimate and that Amazon did indeed violate federal law.
KCVG workers outside the Cincinnati Federal Building before Amazon’s union-busting trial.
We held a standout outside the Cincinnati Federal Building before the trial began to say loud and clear that workers won’t be stopped! There was great media coverage of our standout and the trial.
Links to press coverage:
VIDEO - Workers in Greater Cincinnati, from Amazon to the VA hospital, fight for workplace rights
Amazon is on Trial in Cincinnati. Here’s What You Need to Know
Cincinnati Leaders, Labor Expert React to Amazon Union-Busting Trial
Amazon accused of delay tactics in KCVG Air Hub workers' unfair labor practices case
Amazon is very scared about this trial, because it exposes their law-breaking to the wider public. To defend them, Amazon brought in high-priced lawyers from the notorious union-busting law firm Seyfarth Shaw. The lawyers came from San Francisco and Houston, and likely were paid several hundred dollars an hour apiece to defend the company.
Because even Amazon’s lawyers know that the company broke the law, their playbook was to try to deflect and delay. From the first day (Monday, April 22), they raised all kinds of objections to providing the evidence that the Labor Board had requested. As a result, the judge gave them more time to come up with the evidence.
We know that the legal system was never designed to help workers. Rather, it helps corporations and the super rich. That’s why Amazon was able to buy time and get the court proceedings delayed. (The trial will resume in August.)
To top it all off, Amazon is refusing to pay workers who are witnesses for our lost days of work during the trial, which is only happening because THEY broke the law and violated our rights!
“Amazon is one of the most powerful companies in the world and has long used their power to illegally bust union organizing efforts across the country. Workers have a fundamental right to organize and band together to have a voice in their workplace, and anyone trying to violate that right should be held accountable.”
Everyone is naturally asking: If Amazon is so confident (as they say) that they didn’t break the law, why not go ahead with the trial? We know the answer: They are scared of being held accountable in court, so they are trying to drag things out. But delay tactics won’t save them in the end.
We also know that Amazon wouldn’t be fighting us so hard in court if they also didn’t recognize our growing strength at KCVG. Jeff Bezos doesn’t like that we’re fighting for $30/hour starting pay, 180 hours of paid time off, translation rights at work, paid child care, and union representation. He doesn’t like that we’re getting stronger even though his managers have unleashed a no-holds-barred union-busting campaign against us.
It’s shameful that Amazon is paying lawyers tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to delay delay delay. Amazon is choosing to pay these rich lawyers instead of providing healthcare to seasonal workers and their families. Amazon is choosing to pay the lawyers instead of committing to pay us Prime Pay for Prime Day. Amazon is paying these lawyers instead of providing us with $30/hour starting pay, and good raises for RME workers to meet area standards.
Amazon's delay tactics this week are revealing their endless greed and are energizing us even more to fight for recognition of our union and a union contract.
Amazon is making a choice in how to fight us with their high-priced lawyers and delaying tactics. And now we have to make our own choice: To accept what Amazon’s doing, or to fight back by beginning to organize for big actions leading up to Prime Day. We have the power to bring about Amazon’s day of reckoning and make them PAY UP with Prime Pay for Prime Days!