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Amazon and Union Organizing

In the most recent episode of my podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WmK1YxI8O9SOxeEnpqWNF?si=ibYbQMwHS4-sSjh0K60D9A) I discuss Amazon’s recent union organizing drive and what companies can do in a union organizing campaign.

Why do companies and HR professionals need to educate themselves on union organizing?

It is resurging under the Biden Administration. 

This month Amazon won a union election at one of its warehouses (the results are still being challenged). This week President Biden signed an Executive Order on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. Yesterday, President Biden delivered an address to a joint session of Congress

As a result of the Executive Order, Vice President Harris will chair a task force to find ways to encourage worker/union organizing and collective bargaining. The task force may propose new laws, regulations, and other changes to support union organizing. 

During Biden’s address yesterday, he said “Wall Street didn’t build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions build the middle class. And that’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act – the PRO Act — and send it to my desk to support the right to unionize.” If Congress passes the PRO Act it would end right to work laws, make union organizing easier and, make it harder to be a gig worker or independent contractor. Just three more Senators are needed before the PRO Act will be brought to the Senate floor for a vote

All of these events make understanding union organizing even more important for businesses and human resources professionals. Companies and human resource representatives that are unprepared will make mistakes that could lead to liability and lawsuits. 

What is in this Episode?

In this episode, I discuss the recent union organizing drive at Amazon including some of the reasons that employees may have voted for a union and why the employees ultimately voted down the union.  

I also explore how organizing drives typically begin and the differences between the two types of organizing drives: union driven and employee driven. I analyze what causes these two different types of campaigns to start and what employers can do before a campaign begins.

Finally, I discuss what an employer can do during a union organizing campaign. I also review the concept of TIPS (threaten, interrogate, promise, or spy) so that employers can learn the basics of what they cannot do in a union organizing drive.

You can learn more about this issue from my blog post on the topic: https://texaslaborlawblog.com/respond-union-organizing/ or on the podcast episode (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WmK1YxI8O9SOxeEnpqWNF?si=ibYbQMwHS4-sSjh0K60D9A).

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, then you should speak with a lawyer about your specific issues. Every legal issue is unique. A lawyer can help you with your situation. Reading the blog, contacting me through the site, emailing me or commenting on a post does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and me.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.

 

Published inLabor UnionsUnions
Brett Holubeck (of Houston, Texas) is the attorney responsible for this site.