New legal global coalition takes aim at Amazon’s excessive surveillance of workers

UNI Global Union is teaming up with the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW Network) to form a new Working Group on Surveillance and Freedom of Association, with a specific focus on Amazon’s practices. The initiative is the latest effort to hold the e-commerce giant accountable for its abusive use of surveillance technology to monitor employees and undermine unionization efforts.

The creation of the working group comes at a time when Amazon’s use of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making to track worker productivity and behaviour has drawn sharp criticism from labour unions and rights groups across the globe and intense scrutiny from authorities. This initiative will bring together legal experts to strategize on protecting workers’ rights to organize, with Amazon as the primary case study. The practices, which many argue have been implemented to create a culture of fear and suppression, are widely seen as a threat to freedom of association—a fundamental right.

UNI Global Union’s General Secretary, Christy Hoffman, stressed the global importance of this effort. “The issue of workplace surveillance has gained new importance in the age of AI. Unions must explore both new and existing legal theories and tools to confront this challenge. We must put an end to the attacks on privacy, health, safety, and dignity, as well as the added stress that comes from constant monitoring. Beyond these well-known problems, surveillance alone represents a direct threat to workers’ ability to organize. It is no surprise that Amazon leads the pack in both excessive surveillance and union-busting. The time to coordinate our strategies is now.”

Lawyers within the ILAW Network have long been concerned with how emerging technologies are being weaponized by corporations like Amazon to maintain tight control over their workforce. Jeff Vogt, Rule of Law director of the Solidarity Center and co-convener of the legal network said: “The power imbalance between Amazon and its workers has never been more apparent. We’re seeing technology being used in ways that violate fundamental labour rights, and it’s our responsibility as legal advocates to push back.”

As Amazon continues to expand its operations and influence worldwide, the actions of this legal network could play a crucial role in curbing the company’s surveillance practices and ensuring workers’ rights to organize are upheld.

UNI Global Union, a federation representing over 20 million workers in over 150 countries, has been a vocal critic of Amazon’s labour practices for years. The union has led a series of global campaigns to confront Amazon’s treatment of its workforce, focusing on key issues like precarious employment conditions, low wages, union-busting tactics, and the aggressive use of technology to monitor workers.