Amazon Terminates Union Organizer: ‘I Will Not Be Silenced, We Will Not Be Stopped’
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Amazon terminated one of its biggest spokespersons for worker unionization Thursday, sparking outrage from a labor organization that has thrown its support behind the high-profile unionization push against the e-commerce juggernaut.
Jennifer Bates, a worker at the Bessemer, Ala. warehouse known for jumpstarting a growing national unionization drive, was terminated after nearly three years of employment at the tech giant for what the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) says is without cause.
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Bates was the employee-organizer who first reached out to the RWDSU in 2020 to represent Bessemer warehouse workers, essentially becoming a face of the facility’s labor organization movement. She even testified to the U.S. Senate in a virtual hearing on income inequality in March 2021, saying Amazon would resort to tactics like putting anti-union signs in bathrooms and sending messages to workers’ phones to discourage voting to unionize.
“I went to work for Amazon because I believed in the future world of work, but at Amazon there is no future for workers like me,” Bates said in a statement. “I have tirelessly worked for Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama since it opened. Everything hurts and it’s permanently changed my life forever, but I stayed because I believe Amazon can be better, and I believe with a union we can build a brighter future for workers across the company.”
RWDSU said that Bates is dealing with “debilitating” injuries resulting from her time working for Amazon, and noted that she recently took workers compensation leave at Amazon’s recommendation to tend to her injuries.
But when she returned to work amid “extreme pain and swelling,” Amazon refused to adjust her work schedule and duties despite repeated doctors’ notes and a review by Amazon’s wellness center, the union claimed.
Days after being told again to go home and get another doctor’s review, Bates returned to work a second time only to discover that her access to the employee-facing Amazon A to Z workforce management app had been disabled. The union said a “difficult to reach” human resources representative told Bates that her unpaid time off tally disabled the access.
An Amazon representative, on the other hand, told Sourcing Journal that Bates failed to show up to work for an undisclosed period of time and didn’t respond or provide documentation to excuse her absences.
“We work hard to accommodate our team’s needs for personal leaves of absence, but like any employer, we ask our employees to meet certain minimum expectations for leave approval. Ms. Bates has the opportunity to appeal the decision,” said Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis.
“I’ve given my back to Amazon these past three years,” Bates said. “I’ve given my arms and shoulders to Amazon these past three years. And I’ve given every fiber of my soul into organizing Amazon these past three years. For them to treat me like this is unfathomable. But let me be clear, Amazon, your termination of my employment will not stifle workers organizing, for when you fire leaders, it only brings more people ignited into the movement. We are a movement, we will not be stopped, and I know my union, recognized or not by you, has my back. We will fight this, I will not be silenced, we will not be stopped.”
RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum said Bates had “ample documentation” to show that she should get her job back, and took a shot at Amazon’s termination process.
“This is an issue, which can and should be easily resolved by a human; instead, Jennifer Bates is being subjected to termination by AI due to a glitch in the company’s own software,” Appelbaum said.
Applebaum also criticized Amazon for “spreading misinformation” and deceiving workers, noting that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found the company illegally interfered in the first Bessemer election when employee didn’t cast enough ballots in favor of unionizing. A second unionization drive at the warehouse again saw workers reject the organizing push, which RWDSU contested.
“We will continue to hold Amazon accountable and ensure workers’ voices are heard. Amazon’s behavior must not go unchallenged, and workers in Bessemer, Alabama must have their rights protected under the law,” said Appelbaum. “We urge the NLRB to carefully review Jennifer’s case, when it’s filed, and the countless other issues at hand to ensure no company, not even with the bottomless pockets of Amazon, is allowed to act above the law.”
Intentional or not, Amazon has terminated outspoken employees in the past. In April 2020, it fired user experience designers Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham, two prominent critics from within the company, with the NLRB determining the next year that the firings were illegal. Amazon settled with Costa and Cunningham in September 2021 before a hearing went public.
In April 2022, Amazon was required to reinstate another warehouse employee that it fired two years prior, Gerald Bryson, who was a top critic of the e-commerce giant’s workplace safety policies in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The next month, the company fired Amazon Labor Union members Matt Cusick and Tristan Dutchintwo, workers tied directly to the unionization efforts. Amazon contended at the time that the firings were unrelated, with Cusick failing to show up for work after an extended leave and Dutchin having received five prior warnings for performance issues.
