Know Your Rights!
You may have heard that we live in a “right-to-work” state. That’s true, but it doesn’t mean that unions are illegal! It just means that workers can’t be required to join a union.
You may have heard that we live in a state with “at-will employment”. That’s true, but it’s against the law for Amazon to fire anyone for building a union with their coworkers.
We have the right to organize! The National Labor Relations Act says that “Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or bargain collectively through representation of their own choosing…”
We have the right to talk about wages, working conditions, and a union with our coworkers, even while we’re on the clock! Any time we’re allowed to talk about things like the weather or sports, we’re also allowed to talk about a union or how we’d like to improve our working conditions.
A union is a collection of workers who democratically decide on how their workplace will be run, making decisions themselves and bargaining against management.
It is against the law for Amazon to interfere with our efforts. Here are some TIPS on what Amazon cannot do to us.*
- Threaten: If Amazon says “If you continue supporting the union, we’ll cut your pay”, they are breaking the law.
- Interrogate: If Amazon coercively questions you about your union involvement or union activity, they are breaking the law. For example, if a manager says “Tell me who supports the union or I’ll write you up”, that’s against the law.
- Promise: If Amazon says anything like “If you stop supporting the union, we’ll promote you”, they are breaking the law.
- Surveil: If Amazon spies on the union, like listening in and taking notes on union-related conversations, they are breaking the law.
The National Labor Relations Act Says:
“Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or bargain collectively through representation of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining…”
— Section 7
“It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer…to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7…”
— Section 8(a)
Our best protection against violations of these rights is unity with our co-workers.
There is strength in numbers and organization and WE can change Amazon for the better.
Resources
National Labor Relations Board
*This information is purely educational and does not constitute legal advice.