Amazon workers around the world are preparing for protests and strikes on Black Friday.
I a global effort organized by the UNI Global Union, which represents service industry workers, and the activist group Progressive International.
Amazon workers in more than 20 countries are planning to strike and participate in protests starting on Black Friday, one of the retailer’s biggest annual shopping days. Protest efforts will continue on Cyber Monday, one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.
Organizers say the strikes will continue in major cities in countries such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and Brazil. Some protests include thousands of domestic workers across Germany who are on strike, garment workers in Bangladesh are on strike, and workers in New Delhi will come together to demand fair treatment after problems related to heat waves from this past summer.
Protesters want to ‘Make Amazon Pay’
The protest campaign is organized under the banner “Make Amazon Pay.” The effort will highlight what organizers say are Amazon’s “anti-labor and anti-democratic” practices.
Workers will focus on highlighting “labor abuse, environmental degradation and threats to democracy” as the company’s role in corporate power.
“Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profits harms workers, the environment and democracy,” said UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman. “Bezos’ company has spent countless millions to prevent workers from organizing, but the strikes and protests happening around the world show that workers’ desire for justice – for union representation – will not be stopped.”
“We are united in demanding that Amazon treat its workers fairly, respect basic rights, and stop undermining programs meant to protect us all,” Hoffman continued. “‘Make Amazon Pay Day’ is becoming a global act of resistance against Amazon’s abuse of power.”
According to organizers, Make Amazon Pay will involve participants from more than 80 unions, environmental groups, and activist organizations such as Greenpeace, 350.org, and Amazon Workers International.
During the protests, workers will demand that Amazon pay workers fair wages and commit to environmental sustainability efforts. Workers will also ask the company to pay taxes correctly and respect workers’ rights to unionize.
An Amazon spokesperson issued a statement regarding the upcoming Black Friday protest events saying, “these groups represent diverse interests, and while we are always listening and looking for ways to improve, we remain proud of the competitive wages, comprehensive benefits, and inclusive, safe work experience we provide our groups. ”
In 2022, Amazon’s Staten Island employees became the first and, so far, the company’s only unit to vote to form a union. Amazon has spent millions of dollars on union-busting campaigns to fight workers’ efforts to unionize. A documentary about the Amazon Labor Union campaign was released this year. The filmmakers had to distribute the film themselves as they struggled to find a distributor due to Amazon and the growing influence of streaming service Prime Video in Hollywood.
Do the upcoming Amazon Pay protests will be the fifth year that Amazon workers have had one they are on strike on black friday.
“By uniting our movement across borders, we can not only force Amazon to change its ways but lay the foundations for a world that prioritizes human dignity, not Jeff Bezos’ bank balance.” said the General Manager of Progressive International, Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla. “Amazon is everywhere, but so are we.”
