BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A federal judge permanently struck down a New York law that allowed state officials to handle private-sector labor disputes when the National Labor Relations Board could not act.
U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee granted summary judgment to Amazon, ruling that the 2025 law conflicted with federal labor law. He cited a 1959 Supreme Court decision establishing that labor matters covered by the National Labor Relations Act generally fall within the NLRB’s exclusive authority.
The law authorized New York’s Public Employment Relations Board to oversee union elections and unfair-labor-practice cases whenever the NLRB was deemed “unable” to resolve them. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure after President Donald Trump removed an NLRB member, leaving the federal board without a quorum and hundreds of cases awaiting decisions.
Amazon sued after the state board opened a case involving Brima Sylla, a union vice president fired from the company’s JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island. Union officials allege Sylla was dismissed because of his organizing activity, while Amazon denies retaliation.
Komitee temporarily blocked enforcement in November before making the injunction permanent. He rejected New York’s argument that the NLRB’s inability to act justified an exception to federal preemption. A separate NLRB challenge to the state law remains pending, and the state labor board and Teamsters have not announced whether they will appeal.
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