Amazon-Partner Pinnacle Faces Federal Unfair Labor Practice Charges in RI
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
The Teamsters charges against Pinnacle are being taken up by the National Labor Relations Board. Pictured: An Amazon warehouse
"This is a win," said Teamsters Local 251 attorney Marc Gurksy in an interview with GoLocal. "It took three months, but this is essentially an indictment."
READ: NLRB on Teamsters-Pinnacle Dispute BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs GoLocal reported in November:
The Teamsters have filed federal charges against Pinnacle Logistics for what they say was retaliatory action after workers at the facility in Quonset tried to organize.
Mike Simone with the Teamsters Local 251 spoke about the charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Pinnacle, which in the fall touted bringing three hundred jobs to Rhode Island as the "leading provider of surface transportation, supply chain management, aircraft handling and parking services within the United States" that works directly with Amazon to distribute goods from T.F. Green throughout New England.
"This is the company that the state, and Governor, touted so highly about bringing in," said Simone, who is a Business Agent with the Teamsters, of Pinnacle. "I've been organizing since the 1990s, and haven't seen anything like this."
Simone said he was contacted by workers at the facility who wanted to organize, after they said they weren't getting paid properly for overtime hours worked, or what they had been told upon hiring would be available to them, including benefits and a pension.
Next Steps
The order consolidating cases -- and providing notice of a hearing -- signed by NLRB Regional Director on February 28 -- alleges that Pinnacle, the respondent, violated the National Labor Relations Act, by "interfering with, constraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights."
Pinnacle will have the opportunity to respond to the charges at a hearing in July, but Gursky says he hopes to get relief sooner.
"When these kinds of violations happen, it's easier to ask for an injunction. The goal is that the workers be reinstated, with backpay," said Gursky.
Related Slideshow: Teamsters Pinnacle NLRB March 1
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