WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON AT AMAZON Amazon fails at its attempts to evade U.S. Union Drive In August 2020, Forbes put Jeff Bezos’ net worth at $204.6 billion, with Amazon stock “up nearly 80% since the beginning of the year” mostly due to the pandemic. In its 2020 third quarter, Amazon’s net sales were about $96 billion U.S. The same quarter in 2019 saw net sales of almost $70 billion U.S.
Alabama Amazon Union Drive On February 8, 2021, workers at the Bessemer warehouse in Alabama began voting by mail on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). About 5,800 employees work in that facility alone. Many of those workers are Black women. It would be the first of Amazon’s warehouses to unionize. Amazon is trying everything to block the organizing campaign from succeeding – even putting anti-Union posters in employee bathroom stalls. The company had launched an appeal against a National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) decision to allow the vote to take place via mail because of COVID-19 concerns. The appeal was denied. All mail-in ballots are due in by the end of March. Amazon has been allowed to dictate the terms of its operations for too long. While certainly a leader in innovation, product availability, and delivery for its customers, Amazon has achieved that at the expense of its workers health and safety, and labour rights. While Amazon does pay above minimum wage to its workers, employees of a centibillionaire should have benefits, pensions, paid sick leave, and vacations
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too. In fact, every aspect of their working conditions should be the envy of workers everywhere. But, that’s clearly not the case. Amazon workers – from those in the Alabama warehouse to drivers and workers here in Ontario – are trying to join Unions for a reason. Beyond the clear union-busting tactics happening across its locations, Amazon workers have also voiced many other concerns, including: • Verbal abuse from managers; • Precarious Schedules; • Lack of breaks and overtime pay; • Long hours; • Favouritism, and; • Health & Safety.
“Amazon uses cameras and an internal system that tracks worker movements and productivity by the second, an issue that has been the subject of employee concern for years.” The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 31, 2021
