According to documents filed with the US Department of Labor, Amazon engaged anti-union consultants at a weekly rate of up to $20,000 each to work at its warehouses in Staten Island, New York.
According to an October 2021 letter from Amazon to Lev Labor, the consultants were engaged to represent the interests of Amazon relative to labor matters.
In leaked audio from a mandatory meeting inside the warehouse, workers noted the presence of anti-union consultants. The employer of this consultant is unknown.
Amazon is facing a lot of union organizing activity. A union vote will be held at a Staten Island facility. The Washington Post reported that a warehouse in New Jersey had obtained enough signatures to hold a union election.
The scope of work document from Lev Labor accompanies the October 2021 letter from Amazon. Lev Labor wants to provide Amazon with three to five on-site consultants, for a minimum of five days a week, to act directly with their employees. Lev Labor's consultants would interact with workers through meetings, walk-throughs, and focus groups.
The document says the cost per consultant would be 17k-20k and that it would cost $400 per consultant.
Amazon and Lev Labor did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.
Lev Labor is not the only company that provides anti-union consultants for Amazon. There have been several engagements between Amazon and other consultancies.
Some of the documents relate to the warehouse in Alabama. The National Labor Relations Board ordered the election to be re-held after it was found that Amazon had tampered with the process.
The DOL documents were highlighted on social media by a workers rights specialist and director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at Harvard Law School.
Gerstein said that the documents probably show the kind of money Amazon spends on anti-union consultants.
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