Amazon has fired an employee at its CVG air hub who was heavily involved in labor organizing there. The hub's nascent union says it's retaliation for his organizing efforts. Amazon denies his firing is related to his organizing work.
A letter the union says is from Amazon gives reasons for Amazon CVG air hub tug driver Griffin Ritze's termination as "self-assigning" and "insubordination" for attending invite-only meetings.
Organizers say more than 1,000 employees at Amazon's largest air hub have signed union cards and they're poised to vote on a union constitution soon.
Ritze was helping lead the unionizing process. He and fellow union supporters say he was given the termination letter Wednesday for attending what they call anti-union meetings held by the company late last year.
Ritze says his firing won't stop efforts to unionize.
"Within 12 hours of me being fired, dozens of my coworkers were walking around the ramp with buttons that say, 'Stand with Griffin, fight for $30 an hour,' " he said. "We're not relenting, we're fighting back."
Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis says Ritze's firing didn't have anything to do with his organizing work and that Amazon has an appeals process he could be eligible for.
"The decision to terminate Mr. Ritze is unrelated to whether he supports any particular cause or group," Paradis wrote in an email. "Mr. Ritze was terminated following multiple documented warnings and violations of Amazon policy. We expect all of our employees to follow our policies and to meet certain minimum expectations, and we take appropriate action when they’re unable or unwilling to do so.”
A news release from the union's organizing committee says it will push for Ritze's reinstatement. The union will hold a rally at noon Feb. 3 at the Florence Christian Church activity center to talk about next steps in the unionization process.
Organizers at the air hub say they want wages starting at $30 an hour, 180 hours of paid time off, translation services for workers who need them and union representation at all employment disciplinary actions.