Amazon went to trial in Cincinnati this week for allegations of unfair labor practices at its KCVG air hub facility in Hebron, Kentucky.
The trial is now on pause until Aug. 19, but Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01) told CityBeat that Amazon could have avoided the trial entirely had the company treated employees better. While Landsman represents Ohio's First Congressional District, many of the Amazon workers in Hebron, Kentucky live in the Cincinnati area.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency that investigates violations of workers' rights to unionize, alleges that Amazon's union-busting at KCVG has been potentially illegal, saying the mega-retailer has retaliated against several KCVG employees for union organizing, required employees to attend anti-union presentations and tracked employees who were engaging in union activity, among other complaints.
At the time of the NLRB’s filing, Amazon told CityBeat that the company’s actions have been lawful and that they will let the legal process play out, but the company’s lawyers successfully argued to a federal administrative judge that Amazon needs time to review documents requested by the NLRB alongside the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Because Amazon's air hub at KCVG is an airport, it must comply with federal TSA law about sharing sensitive security information.
At the time of the NLRB’s filing, Amazon told CityBeat that the company’s actions have been lawful and that they will let the legal process play out, but the company’s lawyers successfully argued to a federal administrative judge that Amazon needs time to review documents requested by the NLRB alongside the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Because Amazon's air hub at KCVG is an airport, it must comply with federal TSA law about sharing sensitive security information.
The trial is now on pause until Aug. 19, but Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01) told CityBeat that Amazon could have avoided the trial entirely had the company treated employees better. While Landsman represents Ohio's First Congressional District, many of the Amazon workers in Hebron, Kentucky live in the Cincinnati area.
“If you choose to be good to your employees, you’re not going to end up in court and it will be a whole lot easier to retain and attract talent," Landsman told CityBeat.
Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, known for his longstanding support of unions, told CityBeat that Amazon needs to be held accountable if the company is found to be in violation of workers' rights.
Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, known for his longstanding support of unions, told CityBeat that Amazon needs to be held accountable if the company is found to be in violation of workers' rights.
"Amazon is one of the most powerful companies in the world and has long used their power to illegally bust union organizing efforts across the country," Brown said. "Workers have a fundamental right to organize and band together to have a voice in their workplace, and anyone trying to violate that right should be held accountable."
Amazon's lawyers declined to comment on the case, and Amazon corporate did not respond to CityBeat's request for comment by press time. But labor researchers tell CityBeat that Amazon’s behavior is par for the course for the multi-billion dollar retail giant.
Maite Tapia is an associate professor at the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations at Michigan State University. She studies labor unions and, for the past two years, has studied the newfound labor movement within Amazon’s warehouses.
“Unionizing at Amazon is a very recent phenomenon, just because it is so hard to unionize these workplaces,” Tapia told CityBeat. “The Amazon union-busting tactics that we see at KCVG are nothing new. Through our research, we've seen very similar tactics by Amazon, for example, at warehouses in Alabama and New York.”
Given that KCVG is the first air hub to unionize under Amazon, Tapia said Amazon’s motion to delay the trail so they can consult with TSA may sound necessary, but reminds people to consider Amazon’s history with union-busting.
“From an outside perspective, it seems reasonable. When we hear things like, ‘We have more security issues,’ or, ‘There’s sensitive information, we have to check with TSA,’ that sounds reasonable. But we also know at the same time from research that has been going on for a long time, that corporations will try to do everything they can to delay [these trials],” Tapia said. “It's really a typical tactic to suppress unionization, because then as a group of workers, you might lose momentum, you lose energy, you might lose engaged workers.”
Another way that time suppresses union activity, according to Tapia, is through employee turnover. Amazon relies heavily on seasonal hires who may not be on site long enough to fully engage in the union drive, but Tapia says many full-time employees don't stick around either, which she believes is intentional.
Maite Tapia is an associate professor at the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations at Michigan State University. She studies labor unions and, for the past two years, has studied the newfound labor movement within Amazon’s warehouses.
“Unionizing at Amazon is a very recent phenomenon, just because it is so hard to unionize these workplaces,” Tapia told CityBeat. “The Amazon union-busting tactics that we see at KCVG are nothing new. Through our research, we've seen very similar tactics by Amazon, for example, at warehouses in Alabama and New York.”
Given that KCVG is the first air hub to unionize under Amazon, Tapia said Amazon’s motion to delay the trail so they can consult with TSA may sound necessary, but reminds people to consider Amazon’s history with union-busting.
“From an outside perspective, it seems reasonable. When we hear things like, ‘We have more security issues,’ or, ‘There’s sensitive information, we have to check with TSA,’ that sounds reasonable. But we also know at the same time from research that has been going on for a long time, that corporations will try to do everything they can to delay [these trials],” Tapia said. “It's really a typical tactic to suppress unionization, because then as a group of workers, you might lose momentum, you lose energy, you might lose engaged workers.”
Another way that time suppresses union activity, according to Tapia, is through employee turnover. Amazon relies heavily on seasonal hires who may not be on site long enough to fully engage in the union drive, but Tapia says many full-time employees don't stick around either, which she believes is intentional.
“The classic kind of labor economics theory would be lower turnover leads to higher productivity. But what we see in these warehouses is that, because the work is so hard, physically and mentally, that actually, a lot of workers leave after one month, two months, three months, just because it's too hard,” she said. “In the case of Amazon, it's almost like higher turnover actually leads to higher productivity – as long as you have enough bodies that can come in every three months, you can keep going at the rate that you want to go.”
Employees at KCVG began union efforts in November 2022 after upper management announced there would be no peak pay for the 2022 holiday rush, but mandatory overtime would be required. Amazon’s gross profit for the 2023 fiscal year was $256.202 billion, an 18.52% increase year-over-year for the world’s largest retailer. Employees pushing for a union at KCVG are asking for a standard $30-per-hour wage, improved health benefits, on-site translation for non-native English speakers, union representation at disciplinary hearings and more.
