As temperatures swelter across the Northern Hemisphere this August, worker action at Amazon is also heating up. In country after country, unions, regulators and online influencers are redoubling efforts to change Amazon\u2019s disgraceful\u2014and potentially illegal\u2014practices.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cAmazon\u2019s growth has dragged down wages and workplace safety standards, and workers across the world are at a breaking point. They are tired of the constant stress put on their families by inadequate pay. They are exhausted from the squeeze of inhumane production goals, made harder by record-breaking heat. That is why they are standing up, walking off and demanding more,\u201d said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/strong>Amazon workers across the United Kingdom walked off the job or slowed production to a crawl to protest the company\u2019s meagre proposed pay rise of 35p per hour. The country is in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, with inflation expected to hit 13 percent<\/a> in October. Amazon\u2019s proposal amounts to a significant pay cut when considering purchasing power.<\/p>\r\n The GMB Union<\/a> is calling for a \u00a32-an-hour raise in wages to offset inflation and to acknowledge the hard work that Amazon has profited from.<\/p>\r\n \u201cWe have been there for them during the pandemic and made sure the country was connected,\u201d one Tilbury warehouse worker<\/strong> told The Guardian<\/em><\/a>. \u201cFor all this just getting 35p, it\u2019s an insult. . . .\u00a0 am getting stressed out and anxious just thinking about [high energy bills] and that 35p is not going to cover nothing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n German union ver.di led another strike action at Amazon\u2019s Bad Hersfeld warehouse last week. For years, union activists at the company have demanded that Amazon follow the national agreement for mail order and commerce workers, but Amazon has refused.<\/p>\r\n “At meetings, it was repeatedly mentioned that the rising costs are a heavy burden for many employees,” union secretary Mechthild Middeke<\/strong> said in a statement<\/a>. “As a colleague told me, the issue, in a nutshell, is: If Amazon makes membership 28 per cent more expensive for Prime customers and justifies this with rising costs, then we also have these rising costs and want compensation for them.”<\/p>\r\n UNI affiliate CCOO repeatedly called for action<\/a> about agency workers at Amazon, and now the Labour Inspectorate of Catalonia issued a fine of 5.8 million euros to Amazon and several contractors for illegal practices involving temporary workers.<\/p>\r\n The Catalan regulator found that Amazon had transferred 559 positions to staffing agencies, and this change created more precarious conditions than if they would be had they been hired directly by Amazon. These precarious conditions are related to job instability and pay.<\/p>\r\n A reported 150 Amazon air hub workers<\/a> walked off the job 15 August demanding a $5 an hour pay rise, better health and safety standards and the ability to organize for change on the job without retaliation. The workers, employed in Amazon\u2019s airfreight division, say they must rely on government anti-poverty aid to feed their families, and that temperatures at work have been dangerously high\u2014topping 100 degrees F (38 C).<\/p>\r\n Meanwhile, workers in Albany, New York, have called for a union election, and in Alabama, RWDSU-filed challenges<\/a> to Amazon’s conduct are still pending.<\/p>\r\n \u201cFrom Alabama to New York, Amazon workers in the United States are demanding a voice on the job, wages that can support a family and safe conditions,\u201d said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the RWDSU and of UNI Global Union Commerce<\/strong>. \u201cBut this fight doesn\u2019t stop at national borders, and it will require all of us who care about workers\u2019 rights and basic fairness to work together.\u201d<\/p>\r\n To support Amazon workers’ organizing, 70 of the world’s most influential TikTok creators\u2014with a collective following of 51 million people\u2014launched the People over Prime<\/a><\/strong> campaign. The social media activists, backed by Gen-Z for Change<\/a>, say they are “joining together to stand in solidarity with Amazon workers and union organizers by refusing to monetize our platforms for Amazon, including all direct Amazon sponsorships and usage of Amazon\u2019s storefront.”<\/p>\r\n Additionally, the U.S. federal government launched a broad probe<\/a> into health and safety at Amazon warehouses the first week of the month, and it is also investigating the deaths of three workers<\/a> in New Jersey during the mid-July Prime Day rush.<\/p>\r\n These labour investigations come as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is ramping up its inquiry into \u201conerous\u201d conditions for customers to quit Amazon\u2019s highly profitable Amazon Prime program.<\/p>\r\n UNI Global Union coordinates the Amazon Union Alliance that brings together Amazon workers from around the world to fight for collective bargaining and the affirmation of the dignity of work at the world\u2019s second largest private employer.<\/p>\r\n \u201cFor years Amazon seemed untouchable, but we continue to see a rising swell of global activism to hold the company accountable\u2014to make Amazon pay,\u201d said UNI\u2019s Hoffman<\/strong>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As temperatures swelter across the Northern Hemisphere this August, worker action at Amazon is also heating up. In country after country, unions, regulators and online influencers are redoubling efforts to change Amazon\u2019s disgraceful\u2014and potentially illegal\u2014practices. \u201cAmazon\u2019s growth has dragged down wages and workplace safety standards, and workers across the world are at a breaking point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6688,"template":"","categories":[],"global-issues":[],"sectors":[11],"cross-sector-groups":[38],"workers-rights":[31],"regions":[86,84],"topics":[48],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWorkers are united in the UK<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n
ver.di strikes for decent wages and collective bargaining<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n
Spanish regulators hit the company for illegal use of temporary workers<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n
US workers walkout while regulators\u2014and TikTok creators\u2014raise stakes<\/h5>\r\n