Labor News & Commentary May 22, 2024 Amazon workers in Missouri file an unfair labor practice charge & more

https://onlabor.org/may-22-2024/

By Jacqueline Rayfield

Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s News and Commentary, Amazon workers in Missouri file an unfair labor practice charge based on company surveillance, labor unions push for a repeal of corporate tax cuts, and Mary Kay Henry steps down as president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Amazon warehouse workers in Missouri charge the company with using an algorithm to surveil and “interfere with Section 7 rights of employees.” The workers allege that the company uses an intrusive algorithm to monitor their activity and deter any discussion of unionizing. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has not yet investigated these charges. However, in 2022, the NLRB general counsel issued a memo explaining that challenging automated surveillance techniques would be a priority for the board.

Labor unions, including the United Auto Worker, the AFL-CIO, and the SEIU, joined a letter to congressional leaders yesterday, urging an end to Trump-era tax cuts for corporations. The Trump administration’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) lowered corporate taxes and cut individual and estate taxes in ways that benefit the wealthy, according to these labor leaders. The Congressional Research Service in 2019 confirmed that tax cuts from this act largely benefited high income people. Labor leaders call for this Act’s repeal before November.

FULL story at link above.