RELEASE: Schiff, 133 Members of Congress Urge Amazon to Respect Workers' Rights
Washington, D.C.— Yesterday, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), and other members of Congress in calling on Amazon to respect its employees' right to unionize. The letter, signed by 133 Members of Congress, urged Amazon to cease anti-union activities and ensure workers are able to freely organize without intimidation or retaliation.
“Workers have a constitutional right to organize and advocate for improvements in their wages and working conditions, as well as statutory rights to engage in protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),” the members wrote in a letter to Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy.
“We have heard concerns from our constituents who are scared to exercise these rights due to fear of reprisal from their employer, and anti-union activities from an employer as prominent as Amazon exacerbate those concerns,” the Members continued. “Therefore, in accordance with the NLRA, we urge Amazon to refrain from engaging in intimidation, retaliation, and other forms of illegal interference and to allow workers to decide on their own, whether they should join a union.”
Unfortunately, Amazon has been found to have violated federal labor law on numerous occasions, including public anti-union comments from CEO Andy Jassy. This letter comes amidst a recent wave of worker organizing activity at Amazon locations around the country. To ensure that workers' rights are respected going forward, the Members requested information from Amazon and asked if it will commit to following applicable federal and state labor laws.
The letter was also signed by Representatives Alma Adams (D-N.C.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Christopher Deluzio (D-Pa.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Jesús García (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Al Green (D-Texas), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), William Keating (D-Mass.), Timothy Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Daniel Kildee (D-Mich.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), John Larson (D-Conn.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Eleanor Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Mary Scanlon (D-Pa.), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.),, Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), David Trone (D-Md.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), and Susan Wild (D-Pa.).
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
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