Amazon spent $12.7 million last year on consultants who specialize in defeating labor organizing campaigns, reflecting the online retailer’s determination to keep unions out of its warehouses and delivery hubs.
Disclosures that Amazon filed with the Labor Department on Monday show the company increased its anti-union spending significantly in 2024 as it faced organizing efforts from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other groups. Amazon had doled out $3.1 million to such firms in 2023.
Federal law requires employers to disclose how much money they spent the previous year on the services of “persuaders,” or consultants who try to dissuade employees from forming unions. Amazon appears to have become the country’s biggest investor in persuaders ever since warehouse workers in Alabama and New York started organizing four years ago.
Amazon facilities can employ thousands of workers, and disclosure forms have shown the company sometimes brings on more than a dozen consultants to counter a union campaign with one-on-one and group meetings. The company noted on its forms that the spending was “in response to large scale union organizing efforts.”
Eileen Hards, a company spokesperson, said in an email that Amazon was “proud to invest tens of billions of dollars” in employee health care, a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave and other workplace benefits.
“We also know that there are outside organizations working hard and spending heavily to spread inaccurate information about us to our teams,” Hards said. “Which is also why we work to ensure our employees are fully informed about their rights and how decisions about outside representation could impact their day-to-day lives working at Amazon.”
The company cut its largest checks to RoadWarrior Productions, run by Russell Brown, and the Rayla Group, run by Penne Familusi Jackson, which each netted more than $3 million from Amazon. Both firms are known for providing consultants who hold meetings with workers and try to convince them unionizing is a bad idea.
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Companies like Amazon typically pay more than $3,000 per day for each persuader, which can lead to a significant tab when a large team works onsite for days or weeks. Employers also agree to pick up the tab on consultants’ travel, food and other expenses — money that many employees feel would be better put to raises and improved benefits.
This story has been updated with comment from Amazon.