The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Bretigny-sur-Orge, near Paris, France, December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has told a federal judge that a U.S. labor board's bid to force the company to reinstate a fired New York warehouse worker is pointless because a union recently won an election at the facility and is enjoying "massive media attention and public support."

Amazon in a filing in Brooklyn federal court on Friday said the National Labor Relations Board can't show that the 2020 firing of Gerald Bryson had any negative effect on the Amazon Labor Union's organizing efforts, so its request for an order requiring that he be re-hired should be denied.

Workers at the Staten Island warehouse voted in April to join the ALU. Amazon is challenging the results of the election.

Amazon says Bryson was properly fired for berating a female coworker during a protest outside of the warehouse. The NLRB claims Bryson was targeted by the company for his efforts to organize a union.

The NLRB did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did a lawyer for Bryson at the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy group.

Workers at dozens of Amazon warehouses across the U.S. are considering joining unions as the online retail giant faces claims that it prioritizes profit over worker safety and has unlawfully discouraged union organizing.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The company has said its productivity standards for workers are fair and based on what the majority of workers actually accomplish, and denied engaging in unlawful labor practices.

In its petition filed in March, the NLRB sought to bar Amazon from retaliating against workers at the Staten Island warehouse who complain about safety issues pending the outcome of a separate case before the board stemming from Bryson's termination.

An NLRB administrative law judge in April, just before the union election, ruled that Bryson's firing violated federal labor law. Amazon has appealed that decision to the five-member board.

It is relatively rare for the NLRB to go to court while a board case is pending and can indicate that the agency believes widespread unlawful conduct is occurring.

On Friday, Amazon said that requiring Bryson to be reinstated would send a message that workplace misconduct is tolerable if it comes in the context of labor organizing.

Amazon in April 2021 settled complaints filed with the NLRB accusing the company of firing six employees at a Chicago warehouse who had requested additional precautions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company denied wrongdoing.

The case is Drew-King v. Amazon.com Services LLC, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 1:22-cv-01479.

For the NLRB: Kathy Drew-King

For Amazon: Christopher Murphy and Richard Rosenblatt of Morgan Lewis & Bockius

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Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Dan Wiessner (@danwiessner) reports on labor and employment and immigration law, including litigation and policy making. He can be reached at daniel.wiessner@thomsonreuters.com.

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