US labor board moves to block Amazon’s favorite anti-union tactic

Photo by Yana Paskova / For The Washington Post via Getty Images

The National Labor Relations Board's general counsel plans to ask the board to rule that mandatory meetings about organizing are a violation of the National Labor Relations Act. Sometimes called captive audience meetings, mandatory meetings are often used by company management to present anti-union rhetoric at meetings that employees are required to attend while at work.

Employees trying to unionize Amazon warehouses in Alabama and New York City have previously filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that the company held meetings to try to convince workers to vote against the union efforts. A new memo from the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board is pushing the agency to break from its longstanding policy of allowing such meetings.

In the memo to the agency's field offices, Abruzzo wrote that forcing workers to attend meetings under threat of discipline is not consistent with labor law.

The Act's protection of employees' free choice is inconsistent with the license to coerce. It is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of employers. I plan to urge the Board to reconsider the precedent and find mandatory meetings of this sort to be illegal.

Under the proposed rule, employers would have to tell their workers that it is voluntary to attend meetings to discuss unionization. Abruzzo argues that this would protect the free speech rights of employers and not the right of employees to decide.

Amazon has been accused of staging such meetings as training sessions or small group meetings where managers talk about the drawbacks of joining a union. Despite numerous reports that the information provided is questionable at best, the company claims the meetings are meant to educate workers.

A recording of a recent meeting at the JFK8 warehouse includes a manager who told the meeting that a union could include clauses in a contract that would require Amazon to fire you if you don't. Workers are heard pushing back against Eric's claims.

Amazon did not reply to a request for comment.

Recent wins for labor organizers have been encouraged by the Biden administration, so there is a chance of a shift in the policy of the NLRB. The first successful union drive in the company's history occurred last week when workers at the JFK8 warehouse voted to join the Amazon Labor Union. The official results of the second union election are pending.