Appeals Court Overturns Ban on Amazon Firing Pro-Union Workers

A Manhattan-based appeals court has nullified a 2022 directive that barred Amazon from terminating pro-union employees, as revealed by court filings on Wednesday. The judges on the panel had earlier indicated concerns regarding the order’s lack of specificity. In a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel concluded that the 2022 decision failed to adequately justify the necessity of the order. They stated that the district court “abused its discretion in issuing the cease-and-desist order.”

The initial order was issued in November 2022 by U.S. District Judge Diane Gujarati. It mandated that Amazon stop retaliatory actions, including firing pro-union employees. This decision stemmed from the 2020 termination of Gerald Bryson, an Amazon union organizer, who was dismissed following a protest over allegedly unsafe COVID-19 protocols at Amazon’s JFK8 Staten Island warehouse. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had petitioned for the order, and Gujarati’s ruling partially granted and denied the request, as it did not include Bryson’s reinstatement. Both Amazon and the NLRB have not provided comments on the recent ruling.

In April 2022, the JFK8 Amazon warehouse became the first U.S. Amazon facility to unionize. Since then, Amazon has made unsuccessful attempts to overturn the unionization. The NLRB accused Amazon of unlawfully firing Bryson in December 2020, asserting that he was terminated for his role in protesting COVID-19 safety measures. Amazon contended that Bryson was fired for making inappropriate comments during the protest. Following the warehouse’s unionization, a judge ordered Bryson’s reinstatement and compensation for lost wages in 2022, a decision upheld by Judge Gujarati in November 2022. However, the appeals court raised concerns about the specificity of the order in November, as reported by Reuters.

The Amazon Labor Union recently affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, as announced in a press release on June 5. Amazon union members are expected to vote on ratification with the Teamsters in the upcoming weeks.