On Black Friday, the largest shopping day of the year, Amazon warehouse workers in dozens of countries, including the United States, intend to walk off the job to protest salary and working conditions.
Several warehouses around the country, including those in Bessemer, Alabama, Columbia, Maryland, Detroit, Michigan, Durham, North Carolina, Garner, North Carolina, Joliet, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., are planning work stoppages.
There are also scheduled work stoppages at a number of Whole Foods stores. Whole Foods is an Amazon subsidiary.
According to CBS News, Amazon employees and labor activists plan to conduct a protest march in front of the New York City apartment of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The labor activities are being coordinated using the hashtag #MakeAmazonPay on social media.
Black Friday work stoppages are scheduled at dozens of Amazon factories in the United States and Europe.
REUTERS
“On Black Friday, which has been dubbed #MakeAmazonPay day, unions, civil society, and progressive elected officials will stand shoulder to shoulder in a massive global day of action to denounce Amazon’s despicable multimillion dollar campaigns to destroy worker-led union efforts,” said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union.
“It is time for the IT giant to immediately halt their horrible, harmful practices, comply with the law, and talk with the workers who want to improve their working conditions.”
A month ago, employees at an Albany facility voted against unionization. This year, a Staten Island Amazon warehouse became the first Amazon-owned business to unionize.
The corporation filed an appeal and attempted to reverse the vote.
The Post has reached out to Amazon for comment.
Workers at Amazon are requesting better wages and working conditions.
REUTERS
Additionally, European labor activists have announced planned work stoppages at a number of fulfillment locations throughout the continent.
The Verdi labor union in Germany said that ten warehouses will be affected by planned work stoppages. The SUD and CGT unions in France have called for a walkout at the country’s eight warehouses.
Verdi demanded that the company recognize collective bargaining agreements for the retail and mail-order trade sector and demanded a further collective agreement on good working conditions, while French unions demanded an increase of a higher cash bonus for the period preceding Christmas, during which warehouse employees are required to perform extensive overtime work.
A spokeswoman for Amazon in Germany stated in a statement, “As an employer, Amazon offers exceptional salary, benefits, and growth possibilities – all in an appealing and safe working environment.”
The work stoppages are scheduled for the largest shopping day of the year, Black Friday.
REUTERS
The representative cited, among other things, a salary rise for Amazon logistics employees in Germany beginning in September, with the minimum wage currently at or above $13.52 per hour, including incentive payments.
A representative for Amazon in France stated that warehouse workers earning less than 3,100 euros per month will get a one-time bonus of 500 euros in addition to a 150-euro end-of-year incentive negotiated with the union.
On Friday morning, the business said that the great majority of its employees in Germany were functioning normally, with strike activity confined to nine of its twenty German fulfillment locations.
Amazon France stated that there has been no indication of an interruption in operations. Two French union representatives stated that they did not anticipate a large turnout since the growing cost of living was compelling workers to seek overtime.
“This is the first time Amazon has had a worldwide strike day,” said Verdi’s spokesperson for Amazon workers, Monika Di Silvestre.
“This is really crucial because a huge global firm like Amazon cannot be taken on locally, regionally, or nationally,” she continued.
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