Bradley Lawyers Eye NLRB Ruling on Amazon CEO’s Comments About Labor Unions

Bradley attorneys John W. Hargrove and Anne R. Yuengert have analyzed a recent NLRB ruling on Amazon and the CEO’s comments about labor unions in a post on the law firm’s website.

A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judge ruled that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s comments violated the National Labor Relations Act and ordered Amazon to post a nationwide notice stating that the company was in violation of the Act.

Jassy made three comments, quoted in various media. He said that unionizing Amazon’s workforce would make it more difficult for employees to have direct relationships with management. He also said that the workplace would become more bureaucratic and slower to get things done. Jassy also voiced his opinion that Amazon’s employees would be better off without a union.

The Bradley attorneys explain that the NLRB decision parses the distinction between management stating opinions related to union activity, which is legal under the Act, and management making threats about such activity, which is illegal.

The judge determined that the comment on the problems unionization would cause in the employee management relationship was lawful. The second statement, that the workplace would become more bureaucratic and much slower, was a de facto threat and not protected free speech. Therefore, the third statement, that Amazon employees would be better off without a union, was illegal as well, because it was accompanied by a threat.

The Bradley attorneys note that the NLRB has never been so aggressive in protecting union activity, and it is doing everything it can to narrow management’s freedom to comment. They suggest being careful what you say publicly when union activity increases in the workplace.