Anti Amazon protest, NYC December 2020
Photo: KENA BETANCUR / AFP / Getty Images
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The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that Amazon illegally fired Gerald Bryson, an employee who alerted about workplace safety in Staten Island (NYC), at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Bryson was leading a protest outside the company’s warehouse on April 6 and had a dispute with another worker. Later, Amazon fired him on the grounds that he had violated their Vulgar language, according to his attorney, Frank Kearl.
In a statement, Amazon said Bryson was “witnessed by other employees harassing and intimidating a co-worker.” While it respects workers’ rights to protest, Amazon said that does not give them impunity when they act incorrectly.
In June, Bryson filed an unfair labor practice complaint accusing Amazon of firing him for protesting working conditions, which is protected by law. On Thursday, an NLRB spokesman said the case had merit.
The decision marks at least the the second time the Board alleges that Amazon has violated labor law during the pandemic, something the company is challenging.
Amazon now has the opportunity to resolve the charge, potentially reinstating Bryson and offering lost payment, or the Board will file a case against the company.
“We look forward to sharing the facts of this case with an administrative law judge in the event that the NLRB files a complaint,” Amazon alleged.
Although the company claims it has taken steps to keep workers safe during the pandemic, including adding temperature controls and requiring social distancing at the facilities, more than 19 thousand of its employees have contracted COVID-19, and some have demanded the closure of the stores.
Kearl, an attorney for Bryson, said that “Amazon’s goal in firing him was to prevent workers from organizing” and meant that he “had to go through a pandemic with no income. The injustice of that is exasperating, “he quoted Reuters.
Jeff Bezos, owner of the company, is considered the richest man in the world. His wife MacKenzie Scott, the richest woman on the planet, said Tuesday that has donated more than $ 4 billion during the last four months to about 384 non-profit organizations.
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday alleged https://t.co/9sYrMYY1mr Inc illegally fired an employee this year who was raising alarm about workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/VuKTFiKYtt
— amNewYork (@amNewYork) December 18, 2020
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