COMP NEWS – A court judge has ruled that Amazon violated federal labor law by threatening to withhold compensation from workers attempting to unionize.

Jan 31 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) illegally threatened to withhold raises and benefits from workers at two New York City warehouses if they voted to unionize, a judge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled.

In a decision issued on Monday, Administrative Law Judge Benjamin Green said Amazon supervisors told workers that they would miss out on regularly scheduled raises and improved benefits if the company was forced into lengthy union negotiations.

U.S. labor law prohibits employers from making threats or promises in order to discourage unionizing.

Additionally, Judge Green said that Amazon illegally removed union literature from an internal messaging board, another federal labor law offense.

Workers at Amazon’s JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last April, a first for the company in the United States. In May, employees at a smaller nearby storage facility rejected a union campaign.

Green said Amazon also violated federal labor law in 2021 by removing a post from an internal message board asking workers to sign a union-backed petition to make Juneteenth a paid holiday.

Amazon has faced many complaints from workers attempting to unionize, though the company has typically disputed claims of wrongdoing.

Amazon has faced dozens of complaints from workers and the ALU as the union attempts to organize warehouses across the country. The company has generally denied wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, an NLRB official rejected Amazon’s bid to overturn the results of the JFK8 election. The company said it intends to appeal that ruling to the board.

To read more about Amazon’s illegal union-busting, click here.

For more Comp News, see our recent posts.