US – Labor court ruled Amazon unlawfully fired female critics
8. April 2021US – Labor court ruled Amazon unlawfully fired female critics
New York, 8/4/2021
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that Amazon unlawfully fired two former employees last April.
Former user experience designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa were fired for „repeated violations of internal policies.“ Both women claim they were fired for their criticism of Amazon’s labor and climate policies.
Costa and Cunningham belonged to the employee advocacy group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), which is calling on the e-commerce giant to develop a plan to combat climate change. In January 2020, AECJ got 400 employees to speak out publicly without executive approval. This violated Amazon’s external communications policies.
As early as last year, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two women raised concerns about Amazon’s treatment of warehouse workers and called for more safety measures.
After their resignations, nine Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren and now-Vice President Kamala Harris, wrote a letter to Amazon asking for additional information.
