The Teamsters have won a key victory over Amazon at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) before an administrative law judge, but the next step in the battle over what it takes to organize workers may be more challenging.
Michael P. Silverstein, a California-based administrative law judge for the NLRB, this week cited the full board’s Cemex precedent in ordering Amazon to recognize a group of workers at the online retailer’s DCK6 warehouse in San Francisco.
Those workers in October 2024 had submitted authorization cards at the warehouse representing a majority of workers dubbed Tier 1 associates who declared they wished to affiliate with the Teamsters.
When the cards were presented to Adam Carr, described in the ALJ’s report as the site manager at DCK6 on October 2, 2024, union representatives “attempted to hand Carr a letter, but he refused to accept it. Other associates spoke to Carr about why they were organizing and after the speeches ended, (a Teamsters representative) left the letter at Carr’s feet,” the ALJ decision said.
Following that, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) did not recognize the union. Nor did it file, as the Cemex precedent said would be required, an RM-petition, which demands a secret vote election.
The Cemex decision in 2023 was a full NLRB decision during the Biden presidency. As ALJ Silverstein said in summing up that case, “the Board created a new pathway for labor organizations to obtain recognition without filing a representation petition.”
If a majority of the workers in a unit signs authorization cards, that unit “can present the employer with a demand for recognition,” according to ALJ Silverstein’s recap.
Following the law
The ALJ did not sound overly enthusiastic in giving his reasoning why he was ruling for the Teamsters.
“This is the first case litigated after Cemex alleging the commission of an unfair labor practice simply because the employer did not file an RM-petition and declined to recognize the union upon the presentation of a demand for recognition,” he wrote. “Because I am compelled to follow the Board’s guidance…I find that Amazon has violated..the (NLRB) Act as alleged in the complaint.”
In a prepared statement, the Teamsters celebrated the ruling. “The Teamsters applaud this decision and will do everything in our power to ensure that Amazon complies with it,” Randy Korgan, director of the union’s Amazon division said. “Once again, an NLRB judge has rightfully ruled against the most abusive and corrupt employer in the world.”
The Teamsters statement also cited an NLRB decision from April that requires Amazon to begin negotiating with the Teamsters at its facility on Staten Island, New York. That location is the only Amazon facility where the rank-and-file have won a traditional election, as opposed to the submission of authorization cards, a process also known as card check. (The union that was victorious was a local grass roots effort that later became part of the Teamsters).
Union representatives have said there has been no progress on negotiations at the Staten Island facility despite the victorious election.
Amazon will appeal
Sam Stephenson, a spokesman for Amazon, said the company would appeal the decision “and we’re confident that a court will overrule it.”
“Despite their claims to the contrary, the Teamsters don’t represent any Amazon employees or partners – at this site or at any Amazon facility – and the legal process in this case is ongoing,” Stephenson said.
Amazon has consistently denied the legitimacy of the vote at the Staten Island facility, hence the apparent disagreement between it and the Teamsters over the status of those workers, who did vote to be represented by the grass roots union that ultimately aligned with the Teamsters.
A labor attorney writing about the ALJ decision saw the next step in the process as being more significant than what occurred this week. Her views were not positive for the union.
Full agency awaits
In a blog for her law firm Duane Morris, associate Elizabeth Mincer said the next step in the just-decided case is the full NLRB, assuming an Amazon appeal of the ALJ decision.
And there, Mincer wrote, the Teamsters are going to be in front of a Republican majority that will control a full five seats on the board.
There have been vacancies on the NLRB, but President Trump recently nominated Republican James Macy and renominated Democrat David Prouty to bring the board up to four out of five membes.
If both are confirmed, which Mincer said is likely, “the Board would have a three-member Republican majority with the votes needed to overturn Biden-era precedents.”
The Cemex decision overturned an earlier precedent known as Linden Lumber. Mincer said if Cemex is overturned, “the most likely outcome is a return to the Linden Lumber standard, under which employers could reject card-based demands for recognition and insist that unions seek a secret-ballot election.”
If Cemex is overturned, Mincer also added that “employers would no longer face a two-week deadline to file an RM petition after receiving a recognition demand.”
Earlier setbacks for Cemex
The Cemex precedent already has taken a hit in federal court. In March, the Sixth Circuit ruled the NLRB had overstepped its authority in issuing its Cemex decision and rules that went along with it.
Early in the second Trump term, the NLRB’s then acting general counsel William Cowen rescinded the agency’s memo on the Cemex decision.
But the impact of those guidelines were not mentioned by ALJ Silverstein in his decision on the Amazon case. His decision suggests the Cowen memo on Cemex has had no impact on the agency.
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