Amazon settles with 2 Seattle workers sacked for criticizing the company

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Amazon reportedly settled with a pair of Seattle workers laid off in 2020, over what a Federal Labor Council said was in retaliation for denouncing the company’s climate change policies.

Employees fired for denouncing Amazon’s role in the climate crisis

The two employees – Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa – began publicly denouncing their former employer in 2018, before leading Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a worker-led internal climate group that called on Amazon to take action to mitigate its effect. and its impact on the climate crisis. Cunningham and Costa had both been leaders in this internal movement, in addition to actively sharing a petition from warehouse workers who worried about the risk to their health at the start of the pandemic.

Amazon terminated their employment shortly after the two employees shared the petition, defending the decision at the time saying they had “repeatedly violated internal policies.” Cunningham and Costa disputed this claim, instead alleging that they were examples due to their visible status as leaders of the internal climate group.

Then, in April 2021, the National Labor Relations Board officially determined that Amazon had unlawfully dismissed the two employees, accusing the company of engaging in “unfair labor practices.”

PBS Frontline reveals Amazon’s impact on society

Amazon settled with the NLRB this week, agreeing to pay Cunningham and Costa for lost wages, and to ensure that current employees at the company are made aware of their right to take collective action.

The two former Amazon employees have garnered public support over the past year from prominent national leaders and lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and United States Senator Kamala Harris era, among others.

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