On September 5, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Antonio, Texas, accusing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of improperly interfering in a union election at a warehouse in New York City and claiming that the agency's structure violates the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit seeks to prevent the NLRB from handling matters that could require Amazon to negotiate with the union. The union won the election in 2022 at the warehouse in Staten Island.

On September 2, the labor board confirmed the election results, rejecting Amazon's claims that the election was tainted by demonstrations by workers and union organizers and that the board members who oversaw the vote were biased against the union.

Amazon's complaint claims that the enforcement process within the board violates the constitutional separation of powers and the company's right to a jury trial.

Nearly 20 companies, including SpaceX, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Trader Joe's, have filed similar lawsuits and regulatory complaints against the NLRB.

Amazon has not yet responded to a request for comment. An NLRB spokesman declined to comment.

The election at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse is the company’s only successful unionization effort to date.

Workers at two other Amazon warehouses in New York and one in Alabama subsequently voted against joining the Amazon union, which recently merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

During those campaigns, the NLRB filed numerous complaints alleging Amazon used illegal anti-union tactics such as firing union supporters, issuing threats, holding mandatory anti-union meetings and refusing to negotiate with the Staten Island union. Amazon has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

That included an unusual lawsuit filed by the board in federal court in New York on the eve of the Staten Island election, alleging Amazon wrongfully fired a pro-union employee. Amazon’s complaint, filed Thursday, claims that the labor board “interfered with the free and fair choice of employee voters” by suing the company.

Amazon’s lawsuit also claims that the NLRB’s five members, appointed by the president, enjoy undue protections against removal and that the board’s peculiar structure, which acts as prosecutor, judge and jury in certain cases, violates the U.S. Constitution.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, said the claims about the board's structure are baseless and that companies challenging the agency are trying to deflect attention from their violations of workers' labor rights.

In July 2024, two Texas federal judges issued temporary injunctions on NLRB lawsuits by SpaceX and energy company Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET), respectively. The judges noted that the companies are likely to win their claims that board members and administrative law judges are unfair in their dismissal protections.