(Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a new law requiring retailers to boost safety protections for store workers, including requiring major chains to add panic buttons in all New York State locations.
Unions representing retail workers had pushed for the new law, known as the Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA), after high-profile shootings in the state and as some retail executives recently have cited a rise in retail crime - a claim that has been disputed.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The requirement to add panic buttons specifically at retail workplaces is the first of its kind among U.S. states. While California adopted similar but broader workplace requirements earlier this year, it did not mandate panic buttons.
Walmart (WMT.N), the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Food Industry Alliance of New York State (FIA) have previously opposed the RWSA. Walmart argued against the panic button idea, citing concerns about the likelihood of false alarms. Others expressed worries about the associated costs.
Walmart and the FIA declined to comment. The NRF deferred comment to the Retail Council of New York State, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the past, the retail groups have sent letters to the New York State Senate opposing panic buttons.
CONTEXT
The RWSA goes into effect after 180 days. It requires, among other things, retailers with 10 or more employees to adopt a violence prevention plan and maintain records of violent incidents for at least three years.
It also requires retailers with 500 or more employees nationwide to install panic buttons in easily accessible locations or provide wearable panic buttons or mobile-phone-based alarm devices to alert emergency officials.
This provision of the law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
BY THE NUMBERS
In New York City there have been at least 40,900 complaints related to retail theft so far this year, a 2.7% increase since last year, according to the New York Police Department.
U.S. retailer Target also closed nine locations, including one in East Harlem, citing violence against employees and retail theft as primary reasons.
Amazon.com (AMZN.O) sued a U.S. labor board on Thursday, accusing it of illegally interfering in a union election at a New York City warehouse and claiming the agency's structure violates the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit filed in San Antonio, Texas, federal court seeks to block the National Labor Relations Board from deciding a case that could force Amazon to bargain with the union, which won a 2022 election at the warehouse in Staten Island.
The labor board last week upheld the results of the election, rejecting Amazon's claims that it was tainted by demonstrations held by workers and union organizers and that board officials who oversaw the voting were biased toward the union.
Amazon's lawsuit says the board's in-house enforcement proceedings violate the constitutional separation of powers and the company's right to a jury trial.
Nearly 20 other companies including rocket maker SpaceX, Starbucks and Trader Joe's have made similar claims against the board in pending lawsuits and administrative cases.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An NLRB spokeswoman declined to comment.
The election at the Amazon warehouse known as JFK8 was the first and so far only successful union campaign in the company's history.
Workers at two other Amazon warehouses in New York and one in Alabama have since voted against joining the Amazon Labor Union, which recently affiliated itself with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The NLRB issued scores of complaints accusing Amazon of illegal union-busting tactics during those campaigns, including firing union supporters, making threats, holding mandatory anti-union meetings, and refusing to bargain with the Staten Island union. Amazon has denied wrongdoing.
That included a rare lawsuit the board filed in New York federal court on the eve of the Staten Island election accusing Amazon of illegally firing a pro-union worker. In Thursday's lawsuit, Amazon claims that the labor board "interfered with the free and fair choice of the employee voters" by suing the company.
Amazon's lawsuit also alleges that the NLRB's five members, who are appointed by the president, are improperly shielded from being removed at will, and that the board's unique structure where it serves as a prosecutor, judge, and jury in certain cases violates the U.S. Constitution.
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, has said the claims about the board's structure lack merit and that companies challenging the agency are attempting to distract from their violations of workers' labor rights.
In July, two federal judges in Texas issued separate rulings temporarily blocking NLRB cases against SpaceX and pipeline operator Energy Transfer. The judges said the companies were likely to prevail on claims that board members and administrative judges are improperly insulated from removal.
Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) has been unwilling to negotiate with union members at its Detroit refinery since more than 200 workers went on strike, Teamsters said on Thursday, adding that the industrial action could be extended to the largest U.S. independent refiner's other plants.
Around 200 workers at Marathon's Detroit refinery walked off the job on Wednesday after months of pay- and safety-related negotiations and mediation with Marathon did not yield results.
"We want to go back to the table but they are refusing to bargain," said Steve Hicks, president of Teamsters Local 283.
Union members are fighting for higher pay, said Hicks. The wage increases Marathon offered to union members, around 3% each year, is not enough to keep up with inflation, Hicks said.
Members also want union security, he said. Michigan's repeal of its right-to-work law, which had prohibited workers paying union dues as a condition of employment in a unionized workplace, took effect in February.
Teamsters could extend the strike to other Marathon plants if negotiations continue to stagnate. "It's a big possibility," Hicks said.
The 140,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Detroit refinery is one of Marathon's 13 refineries with approximately 2.9 million bpd of crude oil refining capacity.
Teamsters also represent workers at Marathon's 102,000-bpd Saint Paul refinery.
Marathon did not respond to requests for comment.