Amazon receives complaint to US labor board over 'co-employment' of drivers

Amazon.com has been accused by a US labor board of illegally refusing to bargain with a union representing drivers employed by a contractor, the agency announced Wednesday.

The National Labor Relations Board complaint claims that Amazon is a so-called “joint employer” of drivers employed by the contractor, Battle Tested Strategies (BTS), and used a series of illegal tactics to discourage union activities at a facility in Palmdale . , California.

BTS drivers voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union last year, becoming the first Amazon delivery contractors to unionize.

In the complaint, which was issued Monday, the NLRB said Amazon violated the law by terminating its contract with BTS after the drivers unionized without first negotiating with the Teamsters.

In August, the board had said it had found substance in the union's claims that Amazon exercises control over BTS drivers and should be considered their employer under federal labor law. The NLRB at the time said it would file a complaint unless Amazon resolved the case.

Last month, the board said it planned to file a second complaint involving a different group of Amazon drivers.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has said in the past that it does not have enough control over drivers' working conditions to be considered their joint employer.

Joint employment has been one of the most contentious employment issues in the United States over the past decade, and the NLRB's standard for determining when companies qualify as joint employers has changed numerous times since the Obama administration. Business groups favor a test that requires direct and immediate control over workers, while unions and Democrats support a rule that covers indirect forms of control.

The case will be heard by an administrative judge in Los Angeles, who plans to hold an initial hearing next March. The judge's decision can be reviewed by the five-member NLRB, whose rulings can be appealed in federal court.

A ruling that Amazon is a joint employer under federal labor law could apply in cases involving other Amazon contractors and force the company to negotiate with driver unions.

Meanwhile, the board faces accusations from a growing number of companies, including Amazon, that its structure and internal enforcement procedures violate the U.S. Constitution.

Amazon has filed a lawsuit against the board to prevent it from deciding whether the company should negotiate with a union representing New York City warehouse workers. On Monday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the NLRB's ruling while it reviews Amazon's claims.