We are at a turning point in the movement to unionize Amazon. Across the country, in the face of overwhelming corporate money and power, Amazon workers are organizing with the Teamsters Union, fighting back against low wages, long hours, and limited benefits. Amazon is running scared, blowing past deadlines for union recognition in violation of labor laws and hoping the courts will bail it out.
Though they fail to realize it, Amazon has already lost this battle. Workers are taking control, and they will be the ones who guide the future of the company.
For years, Amazon has utilized the age-old tactic of designating some of its workers as "contractors" rather than direct employees to evade the law and shirk its responsibilities to provide fair wages, benefits, and protections. Workers at these so-called "Delivery Service Partners" (DSPs) drive trucks and wear uniforms with Amazon's logo in big block letters, and yet, like a deadbeat parent, Amazon refuses to acknowledge them as their own.
But in a recent landmark complaint in the case of workers who organized with the Teamsters in Palmdale, Calif., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that Amazon is in fact a joint employer of these workers and must treat them as such. This gives workers much more power to become Teamsters and seek out better pay, benefits, and safety on the job.
Amazon drivers who have long struggled to make ends meet now know that there is a government agency that recognizes them as Amazon employees, even if their employer will not. Their right to unionize now comes with legal protections, and momentum is on their side.
Meanwhile, Amazon warehouse workers and drivers at 22 units (and counting) across the country have organized with the Teamsters in recent weeks, and Amazon is legally obligated to bargain with them.
To no one's surprise, Amazon's feathers are ruffled in the C-suite. Amazon has continued to search for new ways to avoid responsibility and take advantage of the workforce. Not satisfied with traditional union busting, they are now joining forces with several other major corporations to pursue the legal argument that the entire concept of the NLRB is unconstitutional.
It is unclear how far this effort may go, and over the past century, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the NLRB and other federal agencies facing similar suits. However, what Amazon is unwilling or unable to realize as it pursues legal recourse is that these same labor laws protect businesses from the unfettered power of workers. In fact, just as Amazon argues that the NLRB has no constitutional authority, the company is separately asking the agency to use its power to shut down Teamsters picket lines.
Prior to the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1934, American workers had no legal process to form a union. As such, any actions taken to gain better pay, working conditions, and benefits were based solely upon workers' right to assemble under the First Amendment and their willingness to strike. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw massive strikes and violent responses from corporations.
It was not until legislation was passed during the New Deal that any sort of limitations and restrictions on labor action were put into place. The right to unionize was enshrined in law, but workers were also forced into a bureaucratic certification process that limited their militancy. Additional legislation, such as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, further increased restrictions on labor and the tactics we could use.
Without the parameters of the NLRA, worker direct action would again become the only remedy to address grievances. There would be no conditions for organizing, bargaining, or striking. During a dispute, workers would simply walk off the job and take to the streets. Amazon would have no legal options to stop the large-scale worker direct action that would grind the company to a halt. And shipping and delivery logistics in the United States alongside it. In its effort to evade all responsibility, Amazon may very well end up becoming the dog that caught the car.
Given this reality, why would Amazon spend time and money going to court on a case that has little chance of succeeding? Frankly, it's impossible to ignore what's happening on the ground, and Amazon is terrified.
Amazon workers around the country are rising up against this lawbreaking employer, taking matters into their own hands, and organizing with the Teamsters.
This summer at an Amazon air freight hub in San Bernardino, warehouse workers took direct action against management when Amazon refused to address unsafe conditions due to surrounding wildfires and a heatwave. Ultimately, workers succeeded in closing the warehouse and securing their pay until conditions improved. Walkouts have also occurred in response to Amazon's retaliation against workers attempting to organize. The Amazon drivers in Palmdale, Calif., whose case led to the NLRB's monumental joint employer ruling, have extended picket lines to more than 50 Amazon warehouses in 10 states. These actions are just the tipping point.
Workers will not be distracted or deterred by Amazon's last-ditch efforts to maintain its sham business model at the expense of working people. They will continue to fight and never back down.
Randy Korgan is Director of the Teamsters Amazon Division and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 1932.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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