In 2018, thousands of Amazon workers in Europe mounted their own Prime Day strike, citing such concerns as unfair labor practices and union-busting. Still, the July 15 strike comes amid a year of increasing pressure on Amazon to alter its business practices and put labor, climate and human rights first. ![]() In response to news of the planned action, Amazon has insisted that it provides competitive wages and benefits in Minnesota. Currently, around 1, 500 employees work at the Shakopee facility.Īs the strike got underway at 2: 00 p.m., a small but growing group of workers and labor activists began to hold picket signs demanding workplace concessions from Amazon, including reduced work rates and allowing more temporary employees to become permanent workers with access to benefits. Workers want to be treated like “human beings, not machines,” Stolz told NPR, before citing other labor concerns - such as Amazon’s use of temporary workers - as reasons for the planned walk-out. In a July 9 interview with National Public Radio, Stolz described his work as a “picker” - someone who works in tandem with robots to put customer orders together, at a rapid pace dictated by Amazon. William Stolz also works in the Shakopee fulfillment center and helped organize the strike. Thus far, workers have won some concessions, including the right, in 2018, to honor the Muslim holiday of Ramadan during that year’s Prime Day event. “Right now, we have poorly designed workstations,” Brady said.īryan Menegus of Gizmodo notes that workers at this “infamous” Amazon facility have spent the past year engaging in walk-outs and other actions on behalf of religious freedom and other labor concerns. She joined the walkout in solidarity, hoping the workers’ actions will lead to reduced work rates, as well as an investment from Amazon in ergonomics. All of this has led to a repetitive stress injury - one she says she had to fight to get recognized as job-related. ![]() There is pressure to keep up, Brady insisted, as she has seen fellow warehouse workers get written up and sometimes fired for being unable to meet Amazon’s requirements. A big screen mounted in front of her keeps tabs of her work speed. “I group items for orders,” she said, noting that she has to pull 600 products off the conveyor belt per hour. As a hot, blustery wind took hold, Brady described the stress fracture in her foot that is keeping her from her work as a “rebinner,” or someone tasked with grabbing items off a conveyor belt and putting them in a cubbyhole. She joined coworkers and local labor activists on the picket line outside the Amazon facility. Meg Brady has worked at the Shakopee fulfillment center for nearly 18 months, although she says she is currently off the job due to a workplace injury. These workers are being assisted by a Minneapolis-based labor rights group called the Awood Center, whose stated mission is to “build economic and political power amongst workers in the East African community of Minnesota.” There are more than 100 such centers in the United States, but this is the only known facility participating in the walkout. The majority of workers at the warehouse are East African immigrants, according to an event announcement for the July 15 strike. They are joined by workers at Amazon facilities across Europe who are also be walking off the job, according to Mike Murphy of Quartz, to call attention to labor issues such as stagnant pay and unrealistic work quotas. on July 15, approximately 100 warehouse employees at the Amazon facility in Minnesota are expected to walk off the job in hopes of calling attention to what they say are unfair working conditions, as well as the company’s reliance on temporary employees. Workers say these deals are taking a toll on those tasked with fulfilling customer orders at a breakneck pace. ![]() Prime Day is being promoted on Amazon’s website as a “two-day parade of epic deals,” when monthly subscribers to the company’s Prime service can shop for discounted items and expect fast home delivery. ![]() The crowd was picketing to support workers at the Shakopee, Minnesota warehouse (or “fulfillment center”) who timed their strike to coincide with “Prime Day,” one of the company’s key online sales events.
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