Amazon calls NLRB unconstitutional, joining SpaceX

The Amazon filing, made Thursday, came in response to a case before an administrative law judge overseeing a complaint from agency prosecutors who allege the company unlawfully retaliated against workers at a New York City warehouse who voted to unionize nearly two years ago.

In its filing, Amazon denies many of the charges and asks for the complaint to be dismissed. The company’s attorneys then go further, arguing that the structure of the agency — particularly limits on the removal of administrative law judges and five board members appointed by the president — violates the separation of powers and infringes on executive powers stipulated in the Constitution.

The attorneys also argue that NLRB proceedings deny the company a trial by a jury and violate its due-process rights under the Fifth Amendment.

An NLRB spokesperson declined to comment on the filing. Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Seth Goldstein, an attorney who represents both the Amazon Labor Union and the labor group Trader Joe’s United, said the trend was “very frightening.”

“Since they can’t defeat successful union organizing, they now want to just destroy the whole process,” he said.

The legal argument from Seattle-based Amazon, which has long resisted organizing efforts and is seeking to redo the sole union win at its U.S. warehouses, follows similar claims made by SpaceX and Trader Joe’s in a separate lawsuit and an agency hearing last month.

SpaceX sued the NLRB in early January, arguing the structure of the agency is unconstitutional. The lawsuit came a day after the labor agency accused the company of unlawfully firing employees who wrote an open letter…