{"id":4485,"date":"2023-11-24T09:13:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T08:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni-europa.org\/news\/11938\/"},"modified":"2023-11-27T11:39:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T10:39:50","slug":"makeamazonpay2023","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni-europa.org\/news\/makeamazonpay2023\/","title":{"rendered":"New wave of \u201cMake Amazon Pay\u201d strikes and protests on Black Friday in over 30 countries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Warehouse workers and drivers striking in the U.K., U.S., Italy, and Spain\u00a0and Germany<\/i><\/p>\n

On November 24, 2023, Black Friday,<\/b>\u00a0the busiest shopping day of the year, and through the weekend and Monday, Amazon will face strikes\u00a0and protests in over\u00a030\u00a0countries around the world in a massive day of action coordinated by the\u00a0Make Amazon Pay<\/a>\u00a0campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis day of action grows every year because the movement to hold Amazon accountable keeps getting bigger and stronger. Workers know that it doesn’t matter what country you’re in or what your job title is, we are all united in the fight for higher wages, an end to unreasonable quotas, and a voice on the job<\/i>,” said\u00a0Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union<\/b>. \u201cThat’s what workers in Coventry are striking for, and that is why workers around the world are standing up to Make Amazon Pay<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the fourth year that Make Amazon Pay has organized a global day of action on Black Friday. In previous years, thousands of workers went on\u00a0strike at facilities throughout Germany<\/a>, France, Spain, the UK and Italy<\/u>,\u00a0garment workers\u2019 took to the streets in\u00a0Bangladesh<\/a>, workers in the US organized walkouts,\u00a0civil society allies held demonstrations projecting the Make Amazon Pay logo at Amazon headquarters all over the world, projecting \u201cpandemic profiteer\u201d onto Jeff Bezos mansion, and\u00a0climate activists<\/a>\u00a0blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries.<\/p>\n

Co-convened by UNI Global Union and the Progressive International,\u00a0Make Amazon Pay <\/a>brings together over 80 unions, civil society organizations, environmentalists and tax watchdogs including UNI Global Union, the Progressive International, Greenpeace, 350.org, Tax Justice Network and Amazon Workers International. The campaign is united behind a set of common demands that Amazon pays its workers fairly and respects their right to join unions, pays its fair share of taxes and commits to real environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

“From the warehouses in Coventry to the factories of Dhaka, this Global Day of Action is more than a protest. It is a worldwide declaration that this age of abuse must end<\/i>,” said\u00a0Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International<\/b>. “Amazon’s globe-spanning empire, which exploits workers, our communities and our planet, now faces a growing globe-spanning movement to Make Amazon Pay<\/i>.”<\/p>\n

Highlights from Make Amazon Pay day 2023 are set to include:<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Strikes in UK, Italy, U.S., Spain and Germany.<\/li>\n
  2. Climate activists in at least seven countries – Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom and Canada – will protest at Amazon Web Services (AWS) facilities to call out Amazon\u2019s greenwashing, its data centres’ growing climate impact and electricity consumption, and AWS contracts with fossil fuels companies.<\/li>\n
  3. Thousands of workers rally and protest in more than ten Indian cities.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  4. Bangladeshi Garment workers take mass action in Dhaka to demand a minimum wage of $209 per month, an end to police harassment, which has seen trade unionists killed, and demand that Amazon signs up to Accord on Fire and Building Safety.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These actions reflect the widespread criticism of Amazon’s corporate practices. According to a comprehensive\u00a02023 UNI Global Union survey, <\/a>Amazon’s intense performance monitoring has inflicted stress, pressure, anxiety, and a sense of mistrust among its employees across eight key countries. The survey reveals alarming statistics: 51% of employees report adverse health effects, and 57% cite deteriorating mental health due to Amazon’s intrusive monitoring. This has led to increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and the public, with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders investigating the company’s\u00a0\u201cabysmal safety record<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

    A\u00a0new report<\/a>\u00a0by the U.S.-based National Employment Law Project (NELP), Amazon\u2019s warehouse workers receive significantly lower wages compared to other workers in the sector and considerably less than average earnings in their corresponding U.S. counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    In a landmark move, the U.S.\u00a0Federal Trade Commission (FTC)<\/a>\u00a0and 17 state attorneys general have launched a lawsuit against tech and retail giant Amazon.com, Inc., accusing it of maintaining a monopolistic grip on the market through a series of anti-competitive practices.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThis global action underscores the urgent need for Amazon to address its egregious labour practices and engage in fair bargaining with its workers<\/i>,\u201d said\u00a0Stuart Appelbaum President of RWDSU<\/b>. \u201cOur collective actions are gaining momentum, challenging Amazon’s unfair practices and advocating for workers’ rights\u00a0and a sustainable future for all. Together, we can Make Amazon Pay<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    “In Bangladesh, garment workers make the clothes that Amazon sells and profits from. But Amazon doesn’t even recognize us as its workers nor sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to keep our factories safe. That precarity leaves us open to even more abuse: dangerous working conditions, a minimum wage below the $209 per month we are demanding, and trade unionists attacked and killed by police,”<\/i>\u00a0said\u00a0Nazma Akhter, President of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation and Progressive International council member<\/b>. “We make Amazon’s profits and together with our brothers and sisters around the world, we will Make Amazon Pay<\/i>.”<\/p>\n

    “Amazon is failing our planet. At its current rate, Amazon won’t reach its stated 2040 net zero target until 2378<\/i>,” said\u00a0Irish Senator Lynn Boylan and participant in the Summit to Make Amazon Pay<\/b>. “In my country, Ireland, Amazon\u2019s hunger for relentless expansion will contribute to us exceeding our carbon budget with plans for three new data centres, whose insatiable demand for electricity drives up demand for gas. The unbridled expansion of data centres has raised alarms, with EirGrid warning of grid instability and the risk of rolling blackouts. Across the world, Amazon Web Services is deeply involved in different phases of oil production, focusing on pipelines, shipping, and storage for oil and gas companies. It’s time to Make Amazon Pay for its environmental damage<\/i>.”<\/p>\n

    “Amazon workers are taking action around the globe to fight for the good jobs we deserve. In the U.S., my Teamster siblings and I are on strike against Amazon’s unfair labor practices. We have taken our picket line across the country and now we’re joining our colleagues from around the world to demand respect, fair wages, and a workplace where our health and safety are a priority. Amazon is no match for the power of its workers united<\/i>,\u201d said\u00a0Jessie Moreno, Amazon Teamsters member from Local 396 in California.<\/b><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/x.com\/uniglobalunion\/status\/1728111118391078923?s=20<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

    For media inquiries, e-mail: communications (at) uniglobalunion.org.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    At Amazon, Black Friday is now #MakeAmazonPay Day as unions and their allies strike and protest in over 30 countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[135],"topics":[],"sectors":[20,28],"projects":[],"cross-sector-groups":[115],"workers-rights":[112],"global-issues":[],"regions":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew wave of \u201cMake Amazon Pay\u201d strikes and protests on Black Friday in over 30 countries - UNI Europa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At Amazon, Black Friday is now #MakeAmazonPay Day as unions and their allies strike and protest in over 30 countries.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uni-europa.org\/news\/makeamazonpay2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New wave of \u201cMake Amazon Pay\u201d strikes and protests on Black Friday in over 30 countries - 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