Published
October 31, 2024
People should not have to work in an environment where a co-worker can insult you using foul language, make physical contact with you, and propel objects in your direction. Nor would anyone want their employer to allow that to happen.
Yet the General Counsel (GC) at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) thinks such conduct is acceptable if committed by a union supporter.
According to NLRB filings, in May 2022, at Amazon’s Staten Island, NY facility, employee Pasquale Cioffi cursed at a manager, smacked her neck, and then kicked a trash can at her. The manager reported the incident to HR, which, after investigating, let Cioffi go.
This is where the story should have ended. However, Cioffi was involved with the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), now affiliated with the Teamsters, and filed a charge with the NLRB, claiming an unfair dismissal. He argued that Amazon fired him because he supported the ALU/Teamsters, not because of bad behavior.
An NLRB regional office reviewed the complaint and determined it should be dismissed, writing: “The evidence … shows the Employer discharged Mr. Cioffi for engaging in actions that violated its workplace violence policy. The Employer’s discharge ... is defensible and consistent with the Board’s long-held Wright Line standard as the Employer has demonstrated it would have discharged him regardless of his protected activities.”
This is another place where the story should have ended. However, the NLRB’s GC decided to revive the case. The GC’s brief claimed that Cioffi was merely trying to “pat [the manager] on the shoulder.” It claimed he accidentally kicked a trash can over and then “playfully kicked the garbage that had fallen out.” The incident seems to have been anything but playful, as the manager requested a transfer for safety reasons.
The GC’s actions are consistent with the NLRB’s attack on sensible policies that prohibit profanity and other misbehavior in the workplace. In the agency's view, such behavior should be allowed if the perpetrators are involved with a union, never mind the need to maintain a safe and inclusive workplace or the existence of civil rights laws.
Ultimately, an NLRB Administrative Law Judge, and perhaps even the Board, will rule on whether the regional office was correct in dismissing the charge. In the meantime, Cioffi has found a new line of work: Seemingly unbothered by his history, in 2024, the Teamsters nominated him to serve as Chief Steward for the ALU.
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About the authors
Glenn Spencer
Spencer oversees the Chamber’s work on immigration, retirement security, traditional labor relations, human trafficking, wage hour and worker safety issues, EEOC matters, and state labor and employment law.
