Amazon has joined SpaceX and Trader Joe’s in contesting the structure of the U.S. labor agency, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), asserting that its internal enforcement proceedings run afoul of the U.S. Constitution. This move by the retail giant follows a series of cases accusing Amazon of impeding workers’ rights to organize.
Amazon, in a recent filing with the NLRB, declared its intention to argue that the agency’s distinctive setup violates the company’s right to a jury trial. It also criticized limitations on the removal of administrative judges and the composition of the board’s members, who are appointed by the president, as unconstitutional.
The filing comes amid a pending case where Amazon faces allegations of unlawfully retaliating against workers at a Staten Island warehouse who voted to unionize in 2022. Amazon, amidst over 250 NLRB complaints nationwide regarding labor practices, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Following suit, SpaceX has initiated similar contentions against the NLRB in a lawsuit filed recently, coinciding with the labor board’s accusation that the aerospace company terminated eight engineers for criticizing CEO Elon Musk in a letter to company executives.
Trader Joe’s echoed these arguments in January during an NLRB hearing, while two Starbucks baristas, seeking to dissolve their unions, have separately challenged the board’s structure in lawsuits.
