In February 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy despatched an e-mail to the corporate’s team of workers outlining brandnew return-to-work tips. Prior to now, particular person groups throughout the corporate may make a decision the place workers had been anticipated to business, however Jassy’s e-mail evident that origination on Would possibly 1st, 2023, maximum Amazon workers had been anticipated to business from the work no less than 3 days in line with while. (Some roles, comparable to salespeople and buyer assistance, had been released.)
In reaction, 1000’s of Amazon employees signed petitions in opposition to the brandnew mandate and staged a walkout a number of months then. In spite of the protests and pushback, consistent with a report by Insider, in a gathering in early August 2023, Jassy reaffirmed the corporate’s constancy to workers going back on the work for almost all of the while.
The NLRB criticism alleges Amazon “interrogated” workers in regards to the walkout the use of its interior Chime machine. The worker was once first placed on a efficiency growth plan by means of Amazon following their organizing efforts for the walkout and then “offered a severance payment of nine weeks’ salary if the employee signed a severance agreement and global release in exchange for their resignation.”
In line with the NLRB’s attorneys, all of that was once for the reason that worker in demand in organizing, and the retaliation was once meant to deter “…protected, concerted activities.”
The identify of the worker within the NLRB criticism is redacted. Latter future, The Seattle Times profiled one of the most walkout organizers, who was once — upcoming the walkout — placed on a efficiency growth plan that the paper describes as “known for being nearly impossible to escape.” A trait describing how investigators wondered this actual individual over allegedly encouraging alternative workers “to be angry at Amazon” is discussed each within the criticism and within the article.
The NLRB’s normal suggest is looking for a number of other methods of remediation from Amazon, together with repayment for the worker’s “financial harms and search-for-work and work related expenses,” a letter of apology, and a “Notice to Employees” that will have to be bodily posted on the corporate’s amenities around the nation, allotted electronically, and skim by means of an Amazon rep at a recorded videoconference. The contents of the “Notice to Employees” was once no longer specified.
Amazon spoke back to the NLRB’s criticism lately, and Brad Glasser, an Amazon spokesperson, shared refer to commentary with The Verge:
“The facts of this situation are clear and have nothing to do with whether this former employee opposed our return-to-office guidance. She consistently underperformed over a period of nearly a year and repeatedly failed to deliver on projects she was assigned. Despite extensive support and coaching, the former employee was unable to improve her performance and chose to leave the company.”
If Amazon and the worker don’t determine, a listening to is deliberate with an NLRB Administrative Regulation Pass judgement on (ALJ) in Seattle on February 4th, 2025.
