Federal Agency Orders Amazon Respond to Teamsters Complaints Over Workers’ Rights

Amazon Delivery signage is displayed outside an Amazon.com Inc. delivery hub during Amazon Prime Day in Torrance, Calif., on July 12, 2022.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The National Labor Relations Board has sided with a union complaint by Teamsters, accusing Amazon of violating the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to bargain with the union representing some of its delivery drivers.

In its complaint, the federal board ordered Amazon to respond to the Teamsters complaint, alleging that Amazon is a joint employer of its drivers and has a legal duty to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union who represents them.

At the same time, the union says that Amazon has widespread control over drivers’ working conditions, making it the drivers’ lawful employer.

Amazon says it employs drivers as independent contractors through its Delivery Service Partner (DSP) subcontractor business and does not consider the drivers to be company employees.

Several dozen drivers in Palmdale, California, working through a company called Battle Tested Strategies (BTS), unionized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 2023 before Amazon cut its contract with the firm.

The NLRB stated that, according to its review of the complaint, Amazon and BTS failed to bargain with the union about employment conditions and the effects of its decision to terminate its DSP contract.

Among the other accusations noted in the NLRB order for Amazon to address are accusations of threatening employees with job loss, holding unlawful captive audience meetings, intimidating employees, and other retaliation against newly unionized workers represented by Teamsters Local 396 in Palmdale, California.

Amazon has until Oct. 15 to respond to Teamster’s complaint. An NLRB hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge is scheduled for March 25, 2025. The board’s judge can issue a decision and recommend an order after hearing the case; however, it’s not a binding legal precedent for other cases.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien says Amazon will now have no choice but to “meet us at the negotiating table.”

“This decision brings us one step closer to getting Amazon workers the pay, working conditions, and contracts they deserve,” he said.

The NLRB is recommending for Amazon to provide employees who lost work after the contract with BTS was terminated to receive neutral letters of reference or positions at its DAX8 fulfillment center in Palmdale.

The NLRB also wants Amazon to agree to post the agency’s employee rights explanation posters up in the DAX8 facility for one year and a board agent to conduct training on the National Labor Relations Act and ULPs for all managers employed at DAX8.

Amazon has filed claims against the NLRB in New York, arguing that the federal government structure violates the U.S. Constitution. It has also filed a federal lawsuit against the board, along with Starbucks, SpaceX, and Trader Joe’s, which also face complaints from the NLRB.

An Amazon spokesperson said in a media statement there “is no merit to any of their claims.”

“We look forward to showing that as the legal process continues and expect the few remaining allegations will be dismissed as well,” the spokesperson said.

In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said the NLRB has not included most of their larger allegations in this complaint, including the accusation that Amazon retaliated against BTS for unionizing.

According to Hards, the case is yet to receive a final ruling.

“As we’ve said all along, there is no merit to any of their claims,” she said. “We look forward to showing that as the legal process continues and expect the few remaining allegations will be dismissed as well.”

This report has been updated with a response from Amazon.