A federal administrative law judge ruled that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated labor law by making certain anti-union comments during media interviews two years ago.
jassy said in 2022 that unions make workplaces “much slower” and “more bureaucratic.”
The ruling, issued Wednesday, follows a complaint filed in 2022 by the National Labor Relations Board that accused Jassy of crossing a line during interviews in which he said workers were better off without a union.
In the ruling, National Labor Relations Board Judge Brian D Gee pointed to statements the Amazon CEO made on CNBC’s Squawk Box and during two summits hosted by Bloomberg News and the New York Times.
Gee said predictions Jassy made that unionization would change the relationship between employee and employer were legal. But other statements about how employees would have less power under a union and how they would “find it harder to get things done quickly and would be better off” without one violated federal labor law, the judge said.
In a unionized workplace, Jassy said, “If you see something at play that you think might be better for your team or for you or your customers, you can’t just go to your manager and say, ‘Let’s change it.’”
In a prepared statement, an Amazon spokeswoman, Mary Kate Paradis, said the company disagrees that “any part of these comments” are inappropriate and intends to appeal the ruling within the administrative law system.
“The decision reflects poorly on the current state of free speech rights, and we remain optimistic that we will be able to continue to engage in a reasonable discussion about these issues where all perspectives have the opportunity to be heard,” Paradis said.
Jassy’s comments came amid increased organizing efforts at Amazon following a historic victory by the Amazon Workers Union during a union representation vote at a warehouse in New York City. The company continued to appeal the union’s victory and refused to come to the negotiating table.
In his ruling, Gee advised Amazon to avoid “threatening its employees” with similar comments in the future and to post a notice at its facilities across the country indicating the company’s compliance with the judge’s ruling.