Uber called its recent union deal ‘historic.’ A new complaint alleges it was actually against the law.
It happened just days after the union agreement was signed, and Uber launched a campaign to persuade the public that it had made an important investment in its workforce. The campaign was launched by a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board, which recently launched an investigation of Uber that could lead to a lengthy delay in the ride-sharing company’s potential unionization drive. The N.L.R.B. has until June to finish the investigation, but then only weeks to file a final determination that would essentially freeze the company out of the unionization process. In response to the investigation, Uber has launched a number of PR tactics.
Uber has been in the news recently because of the role it’s believed it played in the 2016 assassination of its cofounder’s Uber rival, Anthony Bourdain. Uber is also the subject of increasing scrutiny for its use of driverless cars, particularly for those driving its fleet of self-driving vehicles—both of which are under active investigation by the federal government and state regulators. Uber has denied the allegations, and said it is preparing to fight the investigation should it be launched.
But on Thursday, there was more bad news for Uber: The company’s recent union deal is suddenly under scrutiny.
A new complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B.) alleges that Uber violated the National Labor Relations Act (N.L.R.A.).
The complaint was filed by the N.L.R.B., and alleges that Uber is in violation of the N.L.R.A. by “intentionally interfering with an employee unionization process” in several ways. The complaint alleges that Uber intentionally used anti-union tactics and “materially interfered with the rights afforded by the National Labor Relations Act and thereby destroyed unionization in