Amazon CEO says workers are 'better off' without a union and the company's injury rate is 'misunderstood'
- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said a union would be detrimental to the company's workers.
- Earlier this month, an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York voted to unionize.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on Thursday that he believes union representation would not benefit the company's legion of workers.
"It's employees' choice whether or not they want to join a union," Jassy said during an interview with CNBC Squawk Box. "We happen to think they're better off not doing so for a couple of reasons at least."
Jassy said Amazon "empowers" its employees and that a union could negatively impact a worker's relationship with their manager.
"[At Amazon] if they see something they can do better for customers or for themselves, they can go meet in a room, decide how to change it and change it," Jassy said. "That type of empowerment doesn't happen when you have unions. It's much more bureaucratic, it's much slower."
Earlier this month, an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York voted to unionize. It is the first Amazon warehouse in the nation to successfully unionize. The workers are fighting for the right to collectively bargain over working conditions including issues like safety standards, training, breaks, pay, and benefits.
The company is in the process of challenging that vote and has waged a lengthy and expensive anti-union campaign. The company spent $4.3 million last year trying to quash union votes in Staten Island and in Bessemer, Alabama, according to filings with the Department of Labor, previously reported by HuffPost.
Jassy said the company has long been working to have "competitive and compelling benefits" for workers, citing the company's 20 weeks of paid parental leave and Career Choice Program for workers looking to go to college.
By and large, Amazon has lead retailers in raising wages. Last fall, the company raised its average starting wage to $18 an hour.
Amazon has also faced scrutiny for high injury rates at its fulfillment centers. On Tuesday, the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) released a report that showed Amazon warehouse workers suffer serious injuries at twice the rate of other competitors.
Jassy addressed the issue in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.
"Our injury rates are sometimes misunderstood," Jassy wrote.
He said the company has roles that fit into both "warehousing," as well as "courier and delivery" categories. The CEO said Amazon's injury rates are higher than other warehousing companies, but lower than delivery companies, which he said makes the company "about average relative to peers."
"When I first started in my new role, I spent significant time in our fulfillment centers and with our safety team, and hoped there might be a silver bullet that could change the numbers quickly," Jassy wrote. "I didn't find that."