Amazon Argues That National Labor Board Is Unconstitutional, Joining SpaceX And Trader Joe’s

Amazon claims in a legal filing that the 88-year-old National Labour Relations Board is illegal, echoing similar arguments made this year by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the grocery store chain Trader Joe’s in conflicts over workers’ rights and organising.

The Amazon declaration, released on Thursday, responded to a case before an administrative law judge considering a complaint from agency prosecutors alleging that the corporation unjustly retaliated against workers at a New York City warehouse who voted to unionise nearly two years ago.

Amazon Argues That National Labor Board Is Unconstitutional, Joining SpaceX And Trader Joe’s

Amazon rejects several of the claims and asks that the complaint be dismissed. The company’s attorneys argued that the agency’s structure, specifically restrictions on removing administrative law judges and five board members selected by the president, breaches the separation of powers and infringes on executive powers guaranteed by the Constitution.

The attorneys also contend that NLRB hearings violate the company’s Fifth Amendment due-process rights by denying a jury trial.

An NLRB spokeswoman declined to comment on the filing. Amazon did not respond to calls for comment right away.

Seth Goldstein, an attorney representing both the Amazon Labour Union and the labour organisation Trader Joe’s United, described the pattern as “very frightening.”

“Since they can’t defeat successful union organising, they now want to just destroy the whole process,” he explained.

Amazon Argues That National Labor Board Is Unconstitutional, Joining SpaceX And Trader Joe’s

The legal argument from Seattle-based Amazon, which has long opposed organising attempts and is attempting to reverse the only union victory at its U.S. warehouses, followed identical allegations made by SpaceX and Trader Joe’s in a separate case and agency hearing last month.

SpaceX sued the NLRB in early January, claiming the agency’s structure is unlawful. The case comes a day after the labour agency accused the business of illegally terminating employees who published an open letter critical of Musk and giving the appearance that their activities were being monitored.

During a January labour board hearing on allegations that Trader Joe’s penalised against union activism, an attorney for the grocery chain stated that the NLRB and its panel of administrative law judges are unconstitutionally organised.

SOURCE – (AP)